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Nico twirled his sword around aimlessly. Usually sword practicing was fun but he'd been slashing at the air for an hour now and was rather in need of a sparring partner.
Ever since Percy and Annabeth had gone off to New Rome and Piper had started spending more time with Shel, there weren't many people to have a good spar with. He'd tried sparring with Leo once but that went disastrously badly. Leo's excuse was that no one told him it was against the rules to have a sword that shot fireballs.
Technically Nico didn't think it was against the rules but either way he'd decided not to have a repeat of that again.
"Alright there, love?"
Nico glanced up, grinning, at the sight of his boyfriend.
"You got out early?" he asked. Will nodded as he made his way past the various weapons scattered about.
"Kayla took over the shift. I wanted to spend time with my wonderful boyfriend."
"Aw, that's sweet." Nico blew Will a kiss. "That's not the only reason though."
"No," Will admitted. "When you're bored you tend to do stupid things. Also Kayla kicked me out for overworking myself."
"Can't see it at all," Nico said as Will stopped so close to him that they were breathing the same air. "You look handsome as ever."
"Well that's a given," Will retorted, bending down to softly press a kiss to Nico’s lips. "What mischief are you up to then?"
"Sword play. Want a go?"
Nico’s grin was teasing. He'd never seen Will pick up a sword before so he was a little taken aback when Will said, "Alright then."
Will picked up one of the swords someone had tossed on the ground. It was a standard training sword, no where near as impressive as Nico’s stygian iron one. Will tested it with a short slash and hummed.
"You're going to lose by the way," Nico informed him, taking a step back and getting into position.
"Oh definitely," Will agreed. "I can't win by skill. I'm quite creative though."
He winked and Nico felt a little flustered. A couple of campers stopped as they walked by, likely expecting to watch Nico thrash another camper. His reputation proceeded him.
"You ready, Solace?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, Di Angelo."
Nico lunged forward, keeping his feet light and his arm bent enough to be flexible but no so bent his face was in danger. Will fought him off better than expected but he was still very much on the defense. Nico’s moves were a blur, his eyes darting everywhere and his muscles tensed. Will blocked his blade, eyebrows furrowed in determination. Nico pushed him back a few steps and Will just managed to dart out of the way before he got too close to falling.
"You're pretty decent," Nico admitted. They were circling each other, poised and calculating but both smiling.
"Only decent?" Will asked, taking the opportunity to launch on the attack. He backed off quickly after Nico parried, which was odd. There was a certain glint in his eyes that Nico recognised but couldn't quite put a finger on.
There was more of a crowd now but Nico’s eyes stayed focused on Will. Not a single movement went unnoticed.
Will attacked again and again but would repeatedly back off before he came on too strong. Mostly he just dodged Nico’s attacks and made more frivolous movements designed more to confuse than to win. They were both working up a sweat under the glaring sun and many watchful eyes.
"Maybe I should have taken off my shirt to distract you," Will teased. Nico gasped dramatically.
"How dare you. I am a warrior." He deftly deflected a blow. "I have dignity."
"Do you?"
"I'll get you for that."
Nico dodged under a swing of Will’s sword and came up behind him, giving Will only a moment to deflect. Nico kept coming at him, swords clashing and breaths panting and Will kept on defending and saving himself just at the last minute.
Nico relented slightly, taking a minute to catch his breath. Will looked irritatingly energetic.
"Surrender?"
"Never." Nico pushed himself forward with the last of his energy, twisting Will’s sword hand with his blade and ending up with Will’s sword halfway across the arena. "Give up now, amore?"
"I'm nothing if not stubborn as fuck."
So fast that Nico didn't have time to stop it, Will’s foot kicked his legs from under him. One of Will’s hands grabbed his shoulder and the other secured under his thigh and in less than a second Nico was on his back on the floor, his sword long forgotten with Will pinning him down and grinning smugly. There were cheers in the background but Nico could only focus on his boyfriend.
"I am rubbish with a sword," Will said. "But healers are good at defense and have a shitton of stamina."
"You bastard." Nico’s smile was part disbelief and part awe. "I love you so much."
Will's grin grew impossibly brighter and he leaned down to kiss Nico. Nico’s hands slid to Will’s neck and tangled in his hair.
They only pulled apart with the indignant yells of campers who'd come to watch a bloodbath not snogging.
With a twinkle in his eye, Nico let Will help him up.
"Want another round?"