Archive of Our Own

   Nico closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he leaned back against the railing. He let his head tilt up to the night sky, let himself soak in the gentle chill of foggy air on a rainy day. The city noise hummed in his ears and laid cotton over the loud party inside to dampen the sound. When a quick bristle of wind whispered through his hair, he couldn’t help the relief he felt.

   This was life.

   Jason tried to convince him that it was getting out more and having fun, spending time with a bunch of people drunk on the same energy as you. Percy had said it was friends and family and never ending laughter.

   But Nico had thought it was more of the small things. Waking up before sunrise and listening to cracks of fire. He thought it was holding your breath while you watched a movie and he thought it was feeling the grain of the paper between your fingers as you flipped a page. It was breathing in fog and rain on the city street at night.

   Of course, he didn’t say that to Jason and Percy. The question was initially brought up by Hazel when she stopped by a couple days ago. Apparently someone had asked her randomly and now she was just curious what everyone’s answers would be. He had waved it off at the time, but when they were eating homemade strawberry crepes with Annabeth and Percy while Jason complained about his lactose intolerance, Nico thought that life must be the in betweens, and being alive was the moments that those in betweens made better or worse.

   For a moment, the blaring music of the party and the senseless screaming of the crowd seeped into the street before going under water again, and Nico opened his eyes to look across the street. He’s not sure what he was expecting—maybe some drunken pair of college students stumbling out of the venue—but he was taken aback by the blond hair and cargo shorts he saw. Hands ran over his face and tilted it up to the sky as he leaned back against the door, leaving Nico unable to see what he looked like. The guy stomped his battered high top shoe into the ground a couple times and shook out his hands. Then he looked forward, immediately meeting eyes with Nico.

   Nico tried to look away, make it seem casual, but he already knew he had failed. It was only proven when the guy stood up straight and walked across the street to meet him. When Nico spared another glance to get a better look at the stranger, he was grinning at him, and Nico finally recognized the freckles that littered this man’s skin.

   “Solace,” he mumbled in a quiet greeting, crossing his arms over his chest.

   “Hey, Nico,” Will somehow grinned wider, leaning forward on the railing to Nico’s right and looking out over the water. “Crazy party, huh? I had to step out for a bit and let out some energy.”

   Nico barely turned his head to look at Will. “I didn’t think someone could get too much energy while socializing,” he deadpanned.

   Will chuckled, looking to Nico. “Well, more or less... but I suppose that’s pretty close.”

   Nico raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t bother asking. He looked back up, but he didn’t close his eyes, instead staring at what few stars he could catch. Maybe if he was uninteresting enough, Will would just leave.

   Will tapped the pads of his fingers on the rail, making a dull ringing thud that coordinated with the music inside the party. “I, uh… I liked your guys’ set tonight. That was the bass you were on, right? I don’t know much about music, but my mom—oh, and my cousin Austin—they both are really good with music and stuff. My mom actually is coming out with a new album soon, I’m excited to listen to it.”

   Nico blinked, trying his best to process everything that Will had just thrown at him. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Your mom… releases music?” He finally asked slowly after a few moments.

   Will nodded and hummed. “Yeah! She does alt-country…? If you could imagine what that’s like. I’m honestly not a country fan, but her music has a nice rock sound to it. It’s pretty unique, and I at least think that it does good on the charts, I don’t completely understand all of that stuff. She’s always on tour or some other business trip, so I don’t ask her about it much when I get the chance to talk to her.” He said this all while still tapping perfectly to the beat.

   “Do you ever slow down?” Nico couldn’t help the question as he turned his head to completely look at Will. He really hadn’t been kidding when he said he needed to get rid of some energy.

   Will laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck with an apologetic grin. “Sorry, sorry, I can cool it. I ramble, it’s a bad habit.”

   Nico frowned slightly, glancing Will over once. “It’s not bad, just…” He turned his head back forward, uncrossing his arms and grabbing the railing behind him. “Slow down, or something.”

   Will smiled, bittersweet, looking out over the water again. City lights reflected off the surface like glitter. His tapping stopped, and instead he stomped his heel into the ground and shook out his hands again. With a decided huff, he dropped his hands to his side and glanced back to the party.

   Yes, Nico silently urged. Go back. Let me have just a few more minutes of silence before Jason drags me back in to talk to someone.

   “You hungry?”

   Nico’s head snapped. “What?”

   Will pointed behind him vaguely with a shrug. “I think I’m gonna ditch and grab a bite, wanna come?”

   Nico blinked, and he tried not to look surprised but his jaw had definitely dropped a little.

   Why couldn’t this have been someone he actually knew? Like Annabeth, or Piper, or maybe even at this point Percy. Hell, Nico would even take Leo and his insufferable comments, but Will? Will Solace? Nico barely knew the guy except for that one time he passed out on his way to Hazel’s dorm and Will had been the one to get him back on his feet. Literally. Will caught Nico before his head hit the sidewalk, which probably saved him some nasty stitches or something. He returned to consciousness lying in the grass with Will staring down at him worriedly. It was less than a minute he was out, and Nico had already given it credit to the last meal he had eaten being an apple the morning before, but Will had explained (in many words) that it was bad how Nico had been unconscious and he should go to a doctor. Nico said he’d keep it in mind and never went to the doctor. He had bad eating habits, that was nothing new. No need to boost his insurance for something like that. Otherwise, the only time Nico ever saw Will was oddly in passing or at parties like this where he had a gig to play. They were by no means friends.

   However, on the other hand, Nico could just sense that at any moment Jason would come barreling out of the party with Percy to get him to go socialize with a whole bunch of people he didn’t know, and now he was forced to choose the lesser of two evils.

   Nico looked at Will, then at the party, then glanced back to Will.

   He could just walk home by himself. If Jason asked where he went, then he could say he left early to get food with Will. But then Jason would want Nico to get him something, and then he would ask a bunch of questions about him and Will being friends, and suddenly Nico would be digging a grave he didn’t want to lie in. And if Jason knew that Nico just left the party by himself, there would be multiple reasons Jason would scold him for, the first being safety and the second being his immense need to always avoid unreasonable crowds.

   So what did he choose? One on one social time with Will or a huge party with Jason? He had maybe two seconds to make this decision.

   The door to the party opened again, and his heart sank.

   “Hey, Nico!”

   Both boys looked over to Jason, his hands over his mouth as he shouted from across the street. He jogged over, tripping over his own feet halfway across the road and using his momentum to stumble the rest of the way over.

   “Careful,” Nico mumbled with a frown as he caught Jason. He dusted off his shoulders and straightened out his jean jacket before letting go. “What are you up to?”

   “I was coming to bring you back to the party, man,” Jason teased as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. “You shouldn’t be out here the whole time, unless—“

   It seemed it was now that Jason finally acknowledged Will, eyes going wide and lighting up like a child’s.

   “Will!” Jason mused, punching his shoulder lightly. “What’s up, dude? Are you coming back to the party with us?”

   Will grinned, something joyous but polite. “Actually—“

   “We were just about to leave,” Nico cut in, putting his hand on Jason’s shoulder to divert his attention back to him. “We’re gonna go get food, then I was probably heading home after. Do you want anything?”

   Jason still had a glimmer to his eyes as he shook his head and batted Nico’s hand away. “No, no, I’m good. You go have fun, Nico, I’ll see you back at home.” He waved at Will as he stepped away, back to the street. “Take good care of him, alright?”

   “You got it,” Will saluted, watching Jason run off laughing with a giddy smile.

   Nico furrowed his eyebrows.

   “Is he always like that?” Will asked softly, looking to Nico with an expression that he could only describe as wistful.

   Nico shrugged, beginning to step past Will and start walking down the street. If he was committing to this, he wanted to get it over with. “Basically. Usually he’s a bit toned down, right now he’s just drunk.”

   Will clicked his tongue. “Ah.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

   “Aren’t you… cold?” Nico asked hesitantly.

   Honestly, he wasn’t sure why Will wasn’t shivering to death. He wore only an air force blue t-shirt and an undone dark green button up layered over it, along with his shorts and high top shoes. Even Nico could feel the chill with his bomber jacket on, and it was a good quality jacket. Sure, he had come outside on his own accord, but he still acknowledged that it was a little cold for his liking.

   Will simply shrugged. “I get hot pretty easily. It’s not that bad, either, you just gotta make sure you stay relaxed so you can get that blood flow.”

   Nico looked Will up and down again. What other odd anecdotes did he have to offer? It seemed at this point that Nico could ask for Will’s favorite color and he’d have some story about a giraffe eating lettuce which is why his favorite color is purple. Surely, just a simple question could give him something interesting to hear. This was something he could work with.

   “You said you’re not big with music?” Nico tried as they stopped at a crosswalk and Will pressed the button to change.

   Will shook his head. “Not at all. Mama tried to teach me guitar when I was little, it sounded more like a mouse being strangled. I don’t know, maybe my fingers were too long as a kid, they just got in the way.”

   Yes. This is what Nico needed. For every word he said, Will seemed to have five. If this was how the night was gonna go, he’d say he could get off with it all pretty easy and probably never have to see Will again. Splendid.

   “But you play the bass right? What’s that like?”

   Nico nearly scowled, but he kept his face neutral. Will wasn’t supposed to ask him questions.

   “It’s… fine. I like it,” he answered anyways.

   Will shook his head. “That didn’t look like you were playing an instrument that you liked, Di Angelo. If I know anything, that’s an instrument you were playing with passion. Your riffs were absolutely beautiful, I wish I could have heard them better.”

   Despite himself and all of his pride, Nico felt the rose that dusted his cheeks. “O-oh,” was all he could mumble as he dipped his head and dropped his gaze to the ground. He could feel Will’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t do anything. Not even a pathetic thank you.

   Will looked at him with that same expression, that wistful one. His eyebrows were just slightly raised which barely rounded off his eyes, and he had a gentle smile that seemed like Nico shouldn’t be seeing it. It was something special, reserved for someone who deserved it.

   He knocked his side into Nico’s, elbowing his arm. “Tell me about it.”

   Nico was able to swallow down his blush and look ahead of him as the crosswalk signaled for them to go. “Tell you about it?” He asked quietly as they crossed the street.

   “Yeah!” Will set his gaze forward as well, still smiling but now it was a little more. It didn’t seem so personal. “What it’s like when you play it and stuff, your favorite song to play—whatever. I wanna hear about it.”

   This really did not follow his plan for the night, but maybe it had been a little ambitious to think Will would only want to talk about himself. Nico thought he might have been the vain type, then he would have another reason to find him annoying too, but really all Will had proven to do was be likable. That was genuinely upsetting.

   “Playing the bass…” He trailed off, trying his best to find the right words. There was only a handful of other people walking around right now, one girl passing with a bright red umbrella in her hand. “For me, it’s a lot like a game. Percy and Jason don’t really pay attention to what I do in songs, as long as it sounds good, they just go along with it. I could probably do something different each time we played the same song and they wouldn’t care. So it’s kind of fun, just trying to figure out what I can make that sounds the best for the song.

   “And if it’s a good bass riff, it can completely change the sound of the song,” Nico continued, using his hands to gesture in front of him like you could physically see it. “Depending on how I decide to back my parts, a song could go from alternative to modern rock. The power I hold over our music style is crazy, and you would never even notice if I—“ it seemed to catch up to him now just how much he had said. The last of his rant went out diffidently. “If I hadn’t told you.”

   Nico dropped his hands back to his sides and looked to Will. He was smiling.

   “I love that,” Will marveled, and he actually did seem to love it. Was he not off put by Nico’s tangent? No way it was that interesting. “Honestly, that seems like a good way to do it. Then, if you make something that doesn’t work best for the song you’re playing but you still really like it, you can save it for later!”

   Nico couldn’t help the small smile. “Yeah, exactly. I keep a notebook during practice to write down chords I like.”

   “Oh, man, you’ll have to show me them some time,” Will requested, and when he said that it seemed like he meant it. Was someone actually this invested in him? Was this a trick, maybe? A dare?

   Nico frowned. He’s never been so confused by one person’s motives before. “Why do you—?”

   “Wait, this is it!” Will grabbed Nico’s sleeve and tugged him sharply to the side, nearly causing him to trip as Will led him through a door. He caught a glimpse of a neon Open sign lit in the window of the building.

   There was only a few tables and a handful of booths along the left wall. The old linoleum floor almost seemed yellow in the dim florescent lights, and for a moment Nico thought that he was being dragged to get murdered. But a middle aged women with black and silver streaked hair smiled at them from behind the barstool countertop opposite the booths, and Nico’s momentary panic subsided to curiosity.

   “Will, good to see you!” She greeted, leaning over the counter on her elbows as Will sat on one of the stools. “Didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”

   “We’re coming from a party,” Will informed with a warm smile, clasping his hands on the counter. “Got a little too crazy, so we left early.”

   The woman raised her eyebrows. “And who’s the friend?”

   Nico offered a polite smile as he sat on the stool on Will’s right, holding out his hand. “I’m Nico.”

   “Beth,” she introduced, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. “You need a menu, love?” She asked as she took away her hand and began to walk to the end of the counter.

   “You can just get him the same as me,” Will cut in with a grin. “And two lemonades, please!”

   Nico deadpanned to Will.

   “It’s the best thing they serve,” he offered with a nudge to Nico’s shoulder.

   Beth rolled her eyes, and Nico decided here that he liked her as she disappeared through a swinging door to the kitchen.

   “Thanks Beth!” Will called before the door closed behind her.

   “What if I have allergies?” Nico asked, resting his chin in his palm. “Or an intolerance or something? Maybe I just won’t like it, I don’t even know what you ordered.”

   Will smirked. “You’re Italian— if you can’t have mac and cheese, I’m pretty sure you would be a disappointment to your ancestors.”

   “Excuse me?” Nico scoffed, jaw dropping. “How do you even know I’m Italian?”

   Will raised his eyebrows like it was obvious. Nico simply looked at him like he was crazy.

   “Does the name Nico di Angelo ring any bells, Sunshine?”

   Nico scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and he glared at the counter. “Alright, then.” He cautioned a cursory glance to Will, and he was still just smiling. Nico wanted to wipe the smug look off his face. “I didn’t realize you could recognize Italian.

   Will shrugged, tapping his fingers on the counter along to the pop music playing quietly in the restaurant. “I took it for a few years in high school, I wouldn’t say I’m anything fluent though.”

   Nico raised an eyebrow. “Suppongo che tu non abbia idea di cosa sto dicendo allora?”

   Will scrunched his nose. “Something about me not knowing how to talk… I think. I was really bad at it, I should have taken Spanish or something. Maybe Latin if I wanted to be a doctor so bad.”

   Nico chuckled, shaking his head and unfolding his arms. He let his hands sit in his lap and fiddle with his ring. “That was close enough.”

   Will absolutely beamed. “Where in Italy were you from?” He asked, almost like he was marveling at him. So odd. “ You are actually from Italy right? I’m not making that up?”

   “I lived in Sicily,” Nico assured with a small nod, and he smiled softly at the thought of his childhood. Cafes with his sister and walks to the market with his mom. Swimming in the ocean. Running around the countryside. The tourist view was obviously crazy, but he never minded it when he was living there.

   Will tilted his head, resting it on his hand with his elbow on the counter, fully turned to Nico. “Tell me about it,” he requested again gently. Almost fondly.

   What was this boy’s game?

   Nico couldn’t help himself. “Sicily was like a dream, honestly. I was 8 when we moved, so some of it is obviously a bit fuzzy, but…” He sighed, looking to Will. Fond was definitely the right way to describe his gaze, and Nico didn’t mind it. Or, at the very least, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do anything about it. He couldn’t finish his initial thought.

   “I hope to go back someday,” he admitted quietly. Like a secret. He’s not sure he’s ever told someone that, so maybe it was.

   Will failed to press back a soft smile. “I hope you get to.”

   Nico’s breath caught.

   The door to the kitchen opened, and Will looked over to see Beth bringing out two servings of macaroni and cheese with two glasses of lemonade on a tray. “Here you go boys,” she said as she placed their food and drinks in front of them, along with silverware.

   “Thank you, Beth,” Will praised as he began to pull out his wallet.

   She shook her head and reached over to stop his motions. “On the house, hun”

   Will pouted. It seemed scarier, somehow, since he was always smiling. “I can pay,” he protested.

   Beth tucked the tray under her arm and began to step away. “I try to treat friends around here, you know that.” With a little wave of her fingers, she left back into the kitchen.

   Will looked to Nico expectantly, and he simply stared back in question. He nodded to the pasta. “I want to see your reaction to your first bite of the best thing you’ll ever have.”

   Nico rolled his eyes, but he silently obliged anyways, picking up the fork and stabbing into a bite. He made a big show of letting Will see before eating it.

   It was, in fact, probably one of the best things he’ll ever have. The cheese was gooey and creamy with a nice mix of cheddar and what must have been Gouda. There was breadcrumbs baked over top to a golden brown which made a nice texture to the shell pasta.

   He hummed and went for another bite.

   Will laughed, elbowing Nico and going to start eating his own. “I knew you’d like it.”

   Nico side eyed Will as he took another huge bite.

   “Oh, actually—“

   Conversation continued easily after that. He decided that was his least favorite thing about Will, how easy he was to talk to. Nico didn’t like that he was willing to just have a conversation with him like they had known each other forever. It was almost easier to talk to him than Jason or Hazel at moments. Responses that he wanted to be witty and sarcastic would be something genuine, something real. And when he did make a jab at Will, he was able to make one right back. This wasn’t normal. This was strange, and Nico wasn’t sure if he should stop himself now or if he should continue. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to consider Will a friend now.

   He wasn’t sure why he wanted to.

   Will left 20 dollars on the countertop when they were done anyways, and they left the restaurant to step into a sprinkling rain. Nico didn’t even go home yet like he originally planned, instead finding himself walking alongside Will around the city streets without a care that it was getting late, and he was getting farther and farther away from his apartment. Even if he didn’t like it, talking to Will was easy, and getting lost in conversation was nice.

   At some point, Nico finally checked his phone to see a couple drunken texts from Jason asking when he’d be home and if he should lock the door, then another saying he was going to lock the door anyway and if Nico didn’t have a key that’s his fault. What caught him off guard was the time.

   “Oh, god,” Nico groaned, clicking off his phone and shoving it into his pocket. “It’s almost three in the morning.”

   Will’s eyes widened. “What?”

   Nico huffed, looking around as if that would help him. They had somehow made it to Seaport from the place in the lower east side where the party was at, but if Nico wanted to get back to the apartment in East Village, that was going to be a pain. Even if there was a car to call at this hour, he really didn’t want to pay for it.

   “You don’t think there’s any buses going to East Village right now, do you?” Nico asked helplessly as he stopped to fall back on a bench.

   “East Village?” Will gawked. “Why didn’t you say something like before we passed the bridges?”

   “I didn’t realize it was so late!” Nico snapped, crossing his arms and sighing. “Didn’t think someone like you was gonna be such a night owl.”

   Will smirked, then made his own glance around. They were currently by Pier 16, which would have been probably a 40 minute walk for Nico to get to his apartment. He had no clue where Will lived, but if he was actually able to pay his rent, he probably didn’t live in the Financial District.

   Will huffed, looking back to Nico with a regretful frown.

   Nico raised his eyebrows expectantly.

   “I think I know a place we can crash.”

- -

   Nico expected a lot of things from “a place to crash.” He expected maybe a 24 hour diner Will knew the owners of who had a place to stay close by. He expected a 20 minute walk to a friend’s house in the lower east side. He expected a motel in Chinatown. However, he did not think that “a place to crash” was a 7 million dollar apartment 5 minutes away.

   “What are we doing here?” Nico hissed as Will angrily opened the doors to the lobby of 130 William Street. This was a place his own father would have owned , who did Will know that lived here?

   The doorman actually recognized Will, simply smiling at him as he allowed them through to the elevator without a word. Will smiled back and pulled a key card out of his wallet.

   No way Will lived here, right?

   Will pressed the button for the 62nd floor and scanned his keycard, then watched the elevator doors close with a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall.

   It was a long and painfully silent elevator ride.

   Nico didn’t want to accidentally push any of Will’s buttons, so he didn’t ask any questions, but he did keep wondering to himself how Will had access to potentially the most expensive real-estate in Manhattan. Was his mother really that successful with her music? Maybe she owned an apartment here. That would make sense why Will would have a key, but from what Nico could tell about Will was that he was more of a scrounging type. If he lived in a 7 million dollar apartment his whole life, Nico is near positive he would have pieced that together by now. When Will told him about his childhood home, he had mentioned a blue heeler named Shiloh and a fairly small house in Texas, not a luxury community in the heart of New York City.

   The elevator dinged to a stop, and Nico followed Will to a door that he unlocked with the key card. It opened to a very grand foyer, and Nico wasn’t sure he was actually processing everything he saw as Will let him in and closed the door behind him. The ceilings were huge, probably 15 feet tall. Immediately to his left was an open living room with access to what seemed like an outside overview of Manhattan.

   Will lead him to the right, all the way down a hall past 2 bedrooms and bathrooms until they got to a door which Will flung open. This must have been the master bedroom. It seemed to have its own foyer which you could walk straight through and go to a bathroom, or you could turn like Will did and find an actual bed. It was empty. Nico was pretty sure the whole apartment was.

   Will groaned, finally looking to Nico with anger and disappointment. “Do you know anyone who would pay 7.5 million dollars for a penthouse and not use it?”

   Nico raised his eyebrows. “Honestly?”

   Will shrugged. “Humor me.”

   “Probably my dad.”

   Will’s eyes lit up. “O-M-G, twins.”

   Nico gawked. “What?”

   Will sighed, looking back to the bed sadly. He understood why he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, because really, Nico didn’t either. So Nico followed him to the door that lead to another outside overlook of the city, and Nico realized now that it was actually one huge loggia that spanned across all one side of the penthouse.

   He couldn’t help but gasp as he leaned over the railing to look. “Oh, wow,” he marveled, completely in awe. Up here, Nico was above the city skyline, looking out over the East River and into the west side of Brooklyn. It was absolutely breathtaking.

   Will hummed, resting his elbows on the railing next to Nico. “Yeah,” he breathed. A simple agreement.

   The silence was comforting. It brought Nico back to just a few hours before, outside of the party and sighing in the fog.

   It brought Nico back to life.

   “What do you think life is?”

   Will raised his eyebrows, but still looked over the city. “What?”

   “What do you think life is?” Nico repeated insistently, letting all of his body weight lean into the barrier. “Not scientifically or anything, just… personally. What do you think life is?”

   Will was silent for another few long moments, thinking over his answer carefully and biting his lip. Nico’s fingers twitched.

   “I don’t know if I’ve lived enough to know what life is for me.”

   His breath caught in his throat. The only words that came to Nico’s mind were stunning and gorgeous and wonderful and dazzling and others of the like . None of these were very helpful responses for him.

   Warmth grazed his hand and pressed into his side, and Nico glanced to see Will was leaning into him. He glanced back at Nico, smiling his small fond smile that he still felt like he shouldn’t be seeing.

   “What about you?” Will whispered, moving his eyes back to the city lights. “What’s your life, Nico?”

   Nico pried his eyes away from the freckles all over Will’s skin and watched the horizon instead. “I think it’s the small things.”

   “Yeah?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Like what?”

   “Like this.”

   Will hummed. “I like that.”

   “Yeah?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Why?”

   “I like that I’m part of your life.”

   Nico grabbed at the bar of the railing and sucked in a harsh breath.

   Will shifted, but Nico didn’t dare look at what he was doing. He felt hot fingertips brush softly at the highlight of his cheekbone, pushing hair behind his ear. They trailed down the corner of his jaw and the side of his neck, down his shoulder and down his arm to his hand, to knuckles that were white around the cold metal. Will put his hand over Nico’s, and it immediately relaxed, melting at the touch.

   “Sorry.”

   He said it like a promise as he pulled his hand away, running ice up Nico’s back.

   Nico stared at his hand. The odd feeling of being incomplete plagued his lungs and settled in his ribs.

   “Why?”

   “I shouldn’t have done… that . I’m sorry.” Will shook his hands out.

   Stimming, Nico realized. He was stimming.

   “You’re just...” Will huffed, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”

   Nico hummed tapping his fingers on the railing and keeping his eyes set on the view. If he didn’t look at Will, he could be bold. “I didn’t tell you to apologize.” He reached his hand to grab Will’s again, twining their fingers together. “I didn’t want you to stop, either.”

   Will startled, head snapping to look down at their hands. Carefully, his thumb ran across the back of Nico’s hand, causing a warm rush to his head.

   “Nico.”

   He couldn’t look. Not yet.

   Slowly, his shoulders began to turn towards Will. His head stayed turned to the side. For just a few more moments, Nico could be brave, then he could go back to cowering. Nothing had to change yet. Nothing had to be known.

   “Do you want me to stop?”

   “No.” It was more of an eager answer than he wanted.

   “Look at me, Sunshine.”

   Such a simple request, how could Nico refuse?

   When he finally looked at the soft blue dimmed by night sky and sparked with the reflection of city life, Nico regretted that decision to be so hesitant. Will guided their joined hands to settle between their chests, but Nico kept his other hand on the railing while Will took his own to Nico’s cheek. It was hot where he held his jaw, where he rubbed his thumb back and forth in a steady motion.

   Carefully, Nico let go of the railing and put his hand on Will’s. It lit a fire in his ribs.

   Their noses brushed.

   “Will.”

   “Do you want me to stop?”

   “I don’t…” The words died on his tongue.

   What did he want? Something odd poked and scratched at his skull to stop, pull away and leave while he could still forget about it. But everything else wanted Will to continue however he wanted. The confidence he had when he wasn’t looking roasted as hot embers in his gut, urging him to keep going with their steady warmth as energy. It told him to be indulgent, encouraged his selfish wants. Yet the dull scrape at his cranium told him to pause. He just didn’t really know if he wanted to listen to it.

   Will turned Nico’s chin and kissed the path he had been running his thumb on before pulling away. Their hands stayed laced together, and Will gently tugged Nico back to the door inside. “Let’s go to bed, Sunshine.”

   Nico followed willingly.

- -

   It was still raining when Nico woke up. A steady rain shattered across the city, and he couldn’t help his tired smile.

   Nico wandered out to the hall, checking the other bedroom that Will had slept in to find it empty. Then he tried the living room, where he saw the door out to the overlook crackled open and letting cold air leak in. He stepped out, finding Will sitting on one of the sofas in the middle of the loggia, his arms crossed over his chest and his legs in a crisscross too. Silently, Nico came and sat next to him.

   Will looked to him as he sat down, grinning. “Hey, Sunshine,” he greeted, uncrossing his arms to have his hands rest in his lap. “Sleep well?”

   Nico hummed, shivering as he hugged himself. He was only in his t-shirt from the night before and the sweatpants Will had given him last night to sleep in. “Yeah, I slept fine.”

   “Are you cold? Here—“ Will tugged off the butter yellow hoodie he had on and handed it to Nico “—put this on.”

   Nico hesitantly took it from Will’s hand, looking at the small white logo on the front. Apollo Entertainment. He frowned before pulling it over his head, reveling in the warmth Will had left. With a content sigh, he pulled the sleeves over his palms and held his face with the covered hands, trying to soak in as much comfort as he could.

   Will snickered, but Nico was too tired for embarrassment.

   “Do you drink coffee? I could make some,” Will offered, already starting to stand.

   Nico pulled him back down, falling into his side while he shook his head. “Just sit,” he mumbled as he rested his head on Will’s shoulder. His hand reached and found Will’s. “Slow down.”

   Carefully, Will relaxed, and Nico let his eyes close.

   Small things.

   “What time is it?”

   “I think like 9.”

   Nico hummed. He hadn’t checked his phone, and he was honestly worried for the amount of notifications he would probably have if it wasn’t dead yet. Despite the very minimal text he sent Jason assuring him he was okay and would just be home sometime today, he knew that there would be at least 10 messages in response asking him millions of questions about what he was doing. The chances of him actually answering any of them were slim, but he still didn’t want to have to see all of the messages, that would be overwhelming enough.

   “You should go home soon.”

   Nico knew that, but he really didn’t want to. Home would be loud, and he would have to actually face responsibilities. When he went home, he wasn’t sure if Will would still be there. Maybe that was for the better.

   That dull scratch in his head wanted Will to stop.

   He sighed, opening his eyes and lifting his head. When he looked to Will, he found him smiling softly. “Come on,” Will quietly urged, squeezing Nico’s hand and standing up. “I’ll call you a car.”

   Everything else wanted to see what Will would do next.

- -

   Regretfully, Nico walked into his apartment and made his best attempt for a straight shot to his room.

   “Where do you think you’re going?”

   Nico groaned.

   “Don’t give me attitude, young man,” Jason scolded as Nico turned around, his hands on his hips as he stood in the kitchen. He tried to look angry, but the purple flannel pajama pants and oversized hot pink t-shirt did not help. “What happened to you last night?”

   Nico shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “I stayed with Will.”

   Jason narrowed his eyes. “And you couldn’t think to spare me a few texts?”

   Nico huffed and gave up on trying to retreat to his room, instead taking a few steps to fall back on the couch. “I’m sorry if you were worried, I’ll make sure I keep in touch next time. My phone was dead.”

   Jason raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

   Percy came from the kitchen behind Jason, standing beside him and draping an arm over his shoulders lazily. “Whose sweater is that, Nico?” He asked with a smirk.

   Nico stiffened. He was still wearing the yellow hoodie Will had given him, layered under his bomber jacket and paired with the jeans he had on last night. Will had insisted he keep it on because “you look like you’re freezing, Sunshine,” while they were saying their goodbyes on the street. Of course, he didn’t have a problem with this—not really—but he still pretended to glare at Will before getting into the car. This way he had a reason to talk to Will again. There was a potential reason why they just had to see each other again.

   Jason snorted, rolling his eyes and losing his frustration. “Yeah, alright,” he teased at Nico’s silence, elbowing Percy off and turning into the kitchen again. “Have you eaten?”

   “Not yet,” Nico called as he pushed himself off the couch, following the two into the kitchen.

   Jason handed Nico an empty plate. “Good, Leo made French toast.”

   “Where is he, anyways?” Nico asked as he took the plate, stepping around to stand next to the stove where a plate of bacon and another of French toast were. “Usually he’s already too loud by now.”

   “Are you talking about me?” Leo shouted as he opened a door somewhere in the apartment, storming into the kitchen a few seconds later.

   “Only bad things,” Nico promised.

   Leo clicked his tongue, stealing a piece of bacon off Nico’s plate as he walked past. “Joder tú mamá, puto,” he declared as he took a bite, despite Nico’s glaring protest.

   “What about my mom?” Nico argued loudly, following him to the table to sit next to Percy.

   “Fuck your mom, you hijoputa,” Leo informed, sitting next to Jason and putting his legs in Jason’s lap.

   “How come he gets to use Spanish insults, but I use Italian, and suddenly I’ve crossed a line?” Nico complained as he grabbed a knife and cut a slab of butter from the container on the center of the table.

   “Because Leo says shit like ‘doing your mom,’ and you told us to go fuck our dead family,” Jason clarified as he rubbed his eyes.

   He spread the butter onto his toast and dumped a bite into syrup. “Vattela a pigliare in culo,” he mumbled as he shoved the bread into his mouth with his fork.

   “See, that’s also just a lot more menacing than Leo saying I’m a cabrón,” Percy added, pointing his fork at Nico.

   “You don’t even know what I said, maybe I was complimenting your hair.”

   “You weren’t.”

   “I wasn’t.”

   “Tell me about this boy you were with last night,” Jason interrupted as he cut up his French toast. “What’d you guys do?”

   Nico squinted at Jason and frowned. “‘This boy?’” He mocked, scrunching his nose. “You literally know who he is, why are you acting like this?”

   “Well, if he kept you up all night, I want to know more about him,” he justified.

   “ Ew. ”

   Leo stole a piece of bacon from Jason’s plate. “No way you were out with a boy like Solace and didn’t at least give him one smooch.”

   “You were with Will Solace? ” Percy mused, eyes wide. “That’s gonna be a nice wedding.”

   Nico threw a spoon at Percy, who squeaked and ducked away from it. “What’s your damage?” He asked furiously, glaring before he furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you even talking about?”

   “Dude, his dad has like, crazy money,” Percy answered through a mouth of bread. “Not old money like you, but like… crazy.”

   Well, obviously. Nico had just spent the night in Will’s father’s penthouse, he knew the money for that didn’t just come up in a salary. What he wanted to know was who this man was.

   Leo, ironically, is the one who saved him. “Wait, who is Will’s dad? I didn’t realize he was rich.”

   “His dad is Apollo.”

   Nico’s eyes widened, fingernails digging into his palms.

   Jason tilted his head to his shoulder. “Apollo like—?”

   “Like CEO and founder of Apollo Entertainment Apollo, yeah,” Percy nodded, shoving bacon into his mouth. “Pretty crazy, huh?”

   Nico pulled at the drawstrings of the hoodie. “Yeah…”

   Apollo Entertainment. One of the biggest mass media production studios in the world. The company produced movies, television, animation, music, anything. Whatever media there was to produce, Apollo Entertainment had their hands on it. They owned many subsidiaries and had a lot of partners to make sure they had people in all corners. It was an international household name at this point, and the CEO had started making the company only 20 years ago.

   And that CEO was Will Solace’s father.

   “Y’all better take a 3 month tour of Europe or something for your honeymoon,” Leo said as he picked up a glass of orange juice. “And invite Jason along with a plus one.”

   Jason raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Who said you’d be my plus one?”

   “I guess if you want me to leave—“

   Jason held Leo’s ankles down on his lap, causing him to grin triumphantly.

   “I think you guys are forgetting the minor detail that nothing happened last night, ” Nico groaned, slumping into the table with his head in his arms. “Why am I even friends with you guys?”

   He wasn’t sure if he could really call last night nothing, but Nico wouldn’t tell them that there very nearly had almost been an undeniable something that happened last night. Only over his dead body would he ever let any of his roommates know he had a crush. Crush wasn’t even the right word in this situation, it was more like the inkling of potential feelings for someone if his head wasn’t telling him to ruin it all.

   The ghost of fingertips on his cheek made his brain mush as he tried to remember last night. Flutters of shared breaths and the hanging anticipation of what could have been if Nico could have just said one word. Will was too kind for Nico’s fears.

   “You should text him,” Percy supplied.

   “I am not going to do that,” Nico growled through his arms, voice muffled in fabric. He did want to though. The only thing that was stopping him was the fact that he didn’t actually have Will’s number, and he was positive Will didn’t have his. But he would never admit this out loud, not in a thousand years.

   “Suit yourself, man—maybe I’ll text him.”

   Nico blindly kicked and achieved his goal when Percy shouted and tried to kick back.

   “Hey, your food is going to get cold,” Jason scolded, snapping at Nico. He lifted his head up just enough to glare at him. “You can beat him up later, but you can’t win if you haven’t eaten, even if you’re against Percy.”

   “Hey!”

   “Finish eating.”

   Nico huffed, sitting up and looking down at his half eaten food. He poked at the French toast using his fork with a frown. The conversation around him continued on with something else Leo had brought up, but Nico didn’t really participate. His energy was drained by now, finally running down from last night and this morning. It had been easy with Will, but only getting about 4 hours of sleep after doing that much socializing seemed to call for a factory reset.

   “I’m gonna…” Nico stood up, taking his plate with him. “Go take a nap. I think.” He scraped the rest of his food in the trash and set his dishes in the sink, then left without another word.

   Nico changed into clean clothes, shoving his clothes from last night into his laundry basket. He put on sweatpants and kept Will’s hoodie on, then fell into bed. His last thoughts were of blue eyes in rainy city light, and a soft press of lips to his cheek.

- -

   Truly, the greatest convenience in Nico’s life was the fact that Will was the one to seek out Nico’s number so he didn’t have to. That would have been a low blow for his pride, but it might not have mattered when he immediately answered the text.

Hey this is Will ! I got your number from hazel lmao hope you don’t mind. It’s been a couple days but I was hoping to see you again [: you still need to show me your bass

Yea when are you free

   Nico bit his nail as he watched the ellipses appear and disappear. He knew he seemed eager. He knew it was embarrassing. But he honestly didn’t care. The last few days had mostly been filled with band practices and thinking of Will in between, and it was miserable. Nico has never felt so intrigued by the mere idea of someone, and he didn’t know why he has to start now. But Will had simply been himself, and Nico was floored by it.

Today

Where should I meet you

   Anxiety spiked in Nico’s stomach. He nearly threw his phone across the room, and he did actually screech as he fumbled with the device. It fell on his bed and he quickly picked it up again, hands shaking as he thought out a reply. Will Solace being confident was not good for his nerves, but he absolutely wanted to hear more of it. His thumbs hesitated over the keyboard, trying to figure out a good response.

I’ll send you the studio address

   He waited a beat, thinking quickly through another message. When he pressed send, his heart skipped a beat.

Come whenever. Can’t wait

   Nico could not bear himself to see if Will had answered after he sent the address for their practice space, so he clicked his phone off and shoved it in his pocket without another thought. Instead, he got out of bed and got dressed quickly. He heavily debated on wearing the yellow hoodie, wondering if he didn’t wear it could it be another excuse to see Will. But the thought of what Will might say when he saw Nico in it again made his insides turn to goo, so he tugged it on over his t-shirt, shoved his arms through his bomber jacket, packed up his bass, and left.

   The studio was a short walk from his apartment, just passed a cemetery in the area. When they found the space, Percy had complained about having to hold his breath all of the time so no ghosts would take his soul, and Leo had teased Nico for “obviously wanting the space to go with his emo brand.” Jason was just glad that it was affordable.

   Nico didn’t know how long it would take for Will to get there, but he assumed that he would have to wait at least a little. He unlocked the door and ducked out of the rain that was still pouring even today, shaking the water off his jacket before stomping up the steep stairs. The space wasn’t huge, it had just enough room for the amps, Leo’s drum set, a couch, and to let Nico, Jason, and Percy use their instruments with extra space for probably 2 more people to comfortably stand in there. All of the walls were lined with soundproofing foam, along with the ceiling.

   Nico set up his bass and sat on the floor, his back leaning against the couch. While he waited, he messed around with different progressions and tried to forget that Will could be there any minute now. He did his best to not let the anticipation get to him, steeling his nerves despite the tremble in his fingers. For the moment, he would get lost in the sound and let the chords thrum through his whole body.

   The door at the bottom of the stairs screeched open, and Nico’s heart stopped. He kept playing and he didn’t look at the door expectantly—he was not that hopeless. Only when he heard a knock at the door to the studio did he stop playing, setting his bass aside and getting up to go a calculated pace to the door.

   Will greeted him with a grin. “Hi.”

   Nico couldn’t help the small smile he tried to press back. “Hey.”

   They stared for a moment, then Nico blinked and stepped out of the way, letting Will in.

   “Thanks for letting me come,” Will began as he looked around the room, eyes wide and curious. “I honestly wasn’t sure if I should bring up the bass thing, but I really wanted to hear.”

   “Of course,” Nico mumbled, walking past Will (if the brush of his arm on Will’s back was purposeful, no one could prove it) and grabbing his bass again. He sat on the couch, keeping himself busy with plucking some chords. “I’m… I’m glad you texted.”

   Will looked at him, a glimmer in his eyes as he raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

   Nico stopped, glancing up at Will through his eyelashes. He smirked. “Yeah.”

   Will hummed, taking a few slow steps towards Nico before kneeling down in front of him and resting his arms crossed on Nico’s knees. Somehow, Nico kept eye contact, staring down at Will. “I like your sweatshirt.”

   “Me too.”

   Will had a smug look to him as he raised his hand towards Nico. For a moment, Nico thought he was going to brush his hair back again and he was going to melt at the touch, but instead Will pressed shockingly cold knuckles to his neck, causing him to gasp slightly as Will beamed and pulled away. Nico was still in shock as Will readjusted to instead sit on his right, looking the bass in his hands up and down.

   “So, tell me what all of this is,” Will insisted as he gestured to the instrument. “I’m not kidding when I say I know nothing, how does this work?

   Nico shook off his startled nerves and looked at the bass. “Well—er—this is the neck,” he informed as he ran it through his hand. “These parts are frets, and obviously these are the strings.”

   Will nodded, genuinely focused on what he was being shown when Nico glanced up at him.

   “Then this is the body. These are pickups, that’s like, what actually makes the sound.” He strummed a chord for show. “The knobs are controls for the volume and stuff, but that’s not super interesting.”

   “Are they only for the volume?” Will asked anyways.

   “No, they also change the tone,” Nico answered for him.

   “What’s the tone?”

   “The bass and the treble.”

   “Huh.” Will leaned closer, pressing into Nico’s shoulder to look better. He didn’t tense up at the contact. “Can you play me something?”

   Nico turned his head to Will. “What do you want to hear?”

   Will shrugged, looking up at Nico and nearly coming nose to nose with him. “What’s your favorite thing to play?”

   Nico thought for a moment, surprisingly not distracted by the position they were in, then focused back on his bass. He just played a 30 second or so riff that he made up, which just combined a bunch of his favorite chords and progressions into one, as well as some strumming and plucking that would probably seem impressive to Will. It was nice for him personally, whether or not it was very interesting had never occurred to him. But when he finished and looked to Will for his reaction, he seemed in absolute awe.

   “Woah,” he breathed.

   Nico chuckled, resting his right hand on his knee. “Thank you.”

   “That was insane, ” Will marveled, still gawking at Nico. “I’m not even sure what I just watched you do.”

   Nico shrugged. “I just did what I wanted.”

   “Do more.”

   And if Will didn’t seem so enthralled by his simple tunes, Nico would have probably shied away from how close Will was somehow able to be. However, Nico liked seeing Will’s reactions, and he didn’t mind how close he was, so he pried his eyes away from the powder blue and played some more.

   He did simple things like bass covers of songs, and he did complicated things like riffs he remembered coming up with and not using. Every single time, Will looked at Nico like he had solved a universal world issue and asked him to play more. Admittedly, Nico did play a few songs simply because he recalled Will mentioning something about them, and he liked the way Will would light up when he recognized the sound.

   “Alright, your turn,” Nico eventually declared.

   Will raised his eyebrows. “Huh?”

   Nico pushed the bass into Will’s hands. “You’re gonna play something for me now.”

   Will fumbled with the bass. He was holding it completely wrong, and Nico found it one of the most endearing things possible. “Unless you want me to break it, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Will insisted.

   Nico shook his head, instead reaching to guide Will’s hands to properly hold it and rest on his lap comfortably. There was no shame in the way he carefully placed each of Will’s fingers to a very particular position and the fact that he deliberately took a long time to do so. Will’s long fingers nearly got in the way of themselves, but Nico was still able to silently direct Will to play a couple of simple measures.

   The way Will looked up at him for approval made his heart twist.

   “Man, you keep that up and maybe you’ll be able to sound like a normal mouse while you play instead,” Nico teased, taking the bass and setting it on the floor.

   Will scoffed, absolutely betrayed. He pointed to Nico’s chest with one hand, the other grabbing his shoulder. “I know you did not just make fun of me—“ he pushed Nico onto his back, and he went willingly “—while you’re wearing my sweatshirt and you answered my text immediately.”

   Nico paled, looking up at Will with wide eyes. Will still had his right foot on the floor, but he was on his other knee to hover over Nico. During his move to his back, Nico had brought his right leg up to be pressed between the couch and Will. His other leg was tangled with Will’s on the floor. He grabbed at the hand on his chest, holding it tight in both hands. “I’m not the one who demanded we see each other today, that was all you.”

   “Don’t act like you didn’t want to,” Will accused with a wicked grin. “God, Nico, you’re such a tease.”

   Nico gawked. “ I’m a tease? You’re the one who’s doing all of this kissing my cheek and touching my neck with freezing hands bullshit—if anyone’s a tease it’s you!”

   “You didn’t say I could do anything else!” Will was arguing, but he smiled all through it, and Nico couldn’t help his smile either. “Do you want me to do more?”

   Nico opened his mouth, the response on his tongue immediately going silent. He wanted to scream yes, of course he wanted Will to do more, how could he be so reserved. But that scratch itched inside of his skull again, and he couldn’t get the words out. There was nothing else stopping him except that small hesitation, that whisper that breathed down his neck and made him want to run. He couldn’t answer, and he snapped his mouth shut.

   Will sighed, but it was far from upset. All he did was smile so, so softly and sit up, pulling Nico up with him. He brushed back Nico’s hair, tucking it behind his ear. Nico nearly got lost in the ghosting brush of Will’s fingertips on his skin.

   “I’ll do more when you tell me to,“ Will whispered, pushing his thumb into Nico’s temple and trailing it down to his jaw, to his neck and collarbone. “And I’ll wait for that to be okay.”

   Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “You… you will?”

   “Mhmm,” Will hummed, nodding as he leaned forward and kissed Nico’s forehead. So domestic, and for what? Just a casual hookup? A friends with benefits relationship? Nico isn’t even sure what he wanted himself. “The least you deserve is patience.”

   Oh, how Nico wished to melt into the words and lay in them until moss grew over him. He’d lost people before over his incessant need to take things slow, his inability to be vulnerable in most aspects. Friends, crushes, strangers—many people had dropped him the moment they realized he wouldn’t be spilling his darkest secrets any time soon. But Will made it seem so easy. Like it was a given to wait for him.

   Instead of melting, Nico shook his head and bit back a smile, dipping to rest his forehead on Will’s shoulder. “Don’t say that to me, I’ll have no choice but to come back.”

   “That’s good for me.”

   And honestly?

   “It’s good for me, too.”

- -

   Nico would say he was very neutral about waiting.

   Waiting in line at a coffee shop or something else small like that was fun for him. There was an enthusing enjoyment to it. He could sit and watch everyone around him, piecing together their lives with what little hints they gave him. If he hadn’t been so invested in his music, he probably would have pursued psychology or anthropology.

   Waiting for results was possibly one of his least favorite things though. Whether it was finding out a test score or hearing how his sister’s operation went, Nico absolutely despised waiting. He would be a nervous wreck and he wouldn’t think straight, he’d make brash decisions and snap at everyone. It was best he be left alone to cope with the anticipation himself if he had to wait for a result of some sorts, he’d probably just hurt someone otherwise.

   So Nico would say he was very neutral about waiting. Probably as neutral as he could possibly be. Much of life was waiting, the least he could do was try to make the most of what he could. And the other parts…

   That hatred had probably developed at some point in his childhood, but all Nico knew now was that he wanted to avoid it.

   Nico wasn’t sure what to think of this type of waiting. He sat and stared at his phone for sometimes minutes at a time, waiting for Will to respond to his latest text. Sometimes it was instant, sometimes it was clear that Will was busy and he didn’t reply for a few hours. When that happened, Nico would usually wait no more than 5 minutes before he forced himself to focus on something else. But the moment Will responded, Nico was fumbling over himself to see what he had said.

   It wasn’t obsession. It was curiosity. Nico could say this comfortably. Obsession would mean that Nico consumed each and every word that Will was telling him with absolutely no regards for what they meant. He would flaunt over the phrases uselessly and he would beg for Will to keep talking, even with the driest responses.

   Curiosity, however, meant that Nico was considering every single thing Will had to say, picking it apart to figure out what any of it meant. Favorite colors ( orange of all things, and blue (he especially liked that they were opposites (Will had taken an art class in 6th grade where he learned about color theory, and he had loved it so much that he thought maybe he wanted to be an artist, but then he found he actually didn’t enjoy drawing all that much further into the school year))), worst fears (being forgotten ( not missing out, Will had made very clear) because he had one goal in life, and that was to make an impact on the world (good or bad, he had joked (Nico then rambled to him about Dia de la Muertés and Will asked to hear even more when he was out of things to say))). It didn’t really matter what they were talking about, Nico wanted to know more about Will’s point of view. Something about his perspective was so enticing to Nico, he couldn’t help but try to find out every part of it from every angle.

   I don’t know if I’ve lived enough to know what life is for me.

   That was what started it, he thinks. It had to be. Everyone else had come up with an answer, some profound and others ridiculous. And because Nico liked to pick apart people’s lives with whatever they’ll let him have, hearing Will tell him so little with so much irked him.

   Because that was the thing. All of these life stories and thoughts and opinions and Nico still couldn’t figure out what kind of person Will was. He could tell you why if Will could choose to be any animal he wanted, he would be a mantis shrimp (they had 16 color chromosomes in their eyes, so they saw more colors than humans could possibly imagine), but he could not tell you what that meant for Will’s morals. All of the information should be there, everything Nico needed to figure Will out was right in front of him, but he still couldn’t do it. Because one huge, glaring question was still left for him to find the answer.

   What did Will want from Nico, and why?

   “Aye, Nico!” Jason banged on his bedroom door, but Leo opened it a second later anyways.

   “We are going to brunch,” Leo informed, standing in the doorway stiffly, for some joke Nico never quite understood but he liked that Leo looked stupid. “Get ready, coño.”

   Jason wrapped his arm around Leo’s neck and leaned into his back. “With the gang, yeah?”

   “Uh—“ Nico rolled from his side onto his back, staring up at the ceiling “—where?”

   “Reyna made reservations at Lafayette—“

   “So you have to go.”

   “ Leo. ”

   “You beat around the bush too much, mi cielito.”

   Nico pulled the blanket over his head. “When are we leaving?”

   “We should be going in like 20,” Jason answered, and Nico could hear his door squeaking as it closed again. “I’d hurry up.”

   Nico groaned as the door clicked shut, rolling out of his bed in a heap of blankets and angrily shoving them off when he landed on the floor. As much as Nico wanted to see everyone, he did not feel like functioning in society as a person today. There was a time and place for that, and it was not 09:00 on a Thursday at a fancy restaurant in Noho. But it was Reyna, and it was Jason, and it was Hazel, and it was everyone he really cared about, so he would go.

   Because Nico was an old soul at heart, he pulled on his black jeans and layered a dark grey cable knit sweater over a white mock neck. It was the middle of summer, but it had not stopped raining for the past week and a half, so Nico wasn’t worried about being too warm. He went to the bathroom and splashed some hot water on his face in a sad attempt to wash it before deciding he was ready to go and stomping on his beat up sneakers.

   “Finally,” Leo sighed exasperatedly as Nico walked into the living room and put on his bomber jacker. “We’ve been waiting ages.”

   “You got done in the bathroom like 4 seconds ago,” Percy noted, lying back on the couch with his hands draped over his eyes.

   “Exactly, forever.”

   Jason rolled his eyes, elbowing Leo and pulling Percy up from the couch. “Alright, everyone, let’s go before we lose our security deposit.”

   Nico scoffed, leading the way to the front door. “I haven’t even said anything!”

   Jason glared as he dragged the other two over. “You’re thinking worse things.”

   The walk to the restaurant wasn’t bad. 15 minutes of easy, mindless bickering between all of them and they were there, finding everyone there waiting already.

   “Annabeth!” Percy cheered as though she was the only one there, making a beeline to greet her with a hug and a kiss.

   Hazel waved, grinning. “Hey guys!”

   Leo grinned, punching Frank’s arm lightly. “What’s up?”

   Reyna fist bumped Nico as Piper rested her elbow on Reyna’s shoulder. “If you guys showed up any later and we lost our reservations, I would have slaughtered you,” Piper chirped with a grin.

   “Oh, come on, Pipes, you’d still love us,” Jason teased, kissing her cheek then Reyna’s.

   “No, she makes a fair point, I’m starving,” Hazel added as she hugged Nico’s side. “Good morning,” she whispered to him as Leo began to go off on some long tangent about being late with Piper and Reyna.

   “Morning, Hazel,” he mumbled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “How are you?”

   “Good. I’m glad you’re here,” she admitted.

   Nico watched Percy give Frank a huge hug and smiled. “Me too.”

   Because breakfast had honestly been really fun. Nico sat at the head of the table, between Reyna and Hazel, and listened to a very serious discussion about the best One Direction songs between them and Frank. Percy, Jason, Leo, and Piper threw things at each other and almost got them kicked out. Annabeth tried to make a show of scolding them, but she just ended up watching for her own amusement. They got two Boulangerie baskets and split the pastries among the table, and everything calmed down as they munched on croissants and drank their coffees. There was an odd and nostalgic sense of home as Hazel leaned into Nico’s side just to hug his arm for a moment.

   Then Nico heard a laugh that he probably shouldn’t be able to recognize quite yet, and his head snapped up to see his only problem across the restaurant.

   Will was the best dressed Nico had ever seen him. Light wash blue jeans and a caramel brown crewneck with a white collared shirt underneath and with white sneakers. It was so basic, but Nico had scrounged all of Will’s social medias to see barely any photos to begin with, and much less photos of him in something other than a t-shirt and shorts. The last photo he had posted on Instagram was of him and his mom in front of the NYU Campus a week before his first day of school 4 years ago. (To be fair, Nico also never posted on social media, but that was his type. Will didn’t seem like that type.)

   Will sat in a booth across from a man who looked only a couple years older than him, and panic settled into Nico’s stomach.

   Was he on a date?

   It sort of looked like it. Both of them were dressed very nicely, the other guy wearing a dark blue blazer and matching slacks in the most casual way imaginable, a fitted white t-shirt underneath. His blond hair was jelled to look only slightly tousled and his fancy dress shoes looked like they just came out of the box. He had his arms crossed over his chest and leaned back into the booth while Will used his hands to talk about something excitedly.

   Nico wasn’t sure what to do.

   Reyna tapped his shoulder, a slight frown to her face when he jolted to look at her. “Hey… are you alright?”

   Nico took a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah—yeah, just zoned out for a second. You know how it is.”

   She didn’t seem completely convinced, but Nico didn’t feel like trying to reassure her anymore, so he turned back to the conversation and opted out for glancing at Will occasionally.

   It was easy enough to settle into something that was like 20 minutes ago, when Will had never crossed his mind.

   He didn’t hope Will was looking at him every time he looked away.

   He didn’t hope that he was just being paranoid.

   He didn’t hope Will was going to get up and come see Nico to tell him they should see each other again.

   “Ready to go?” Annabeth asked the table as she finished counting the money they were leaving for a tip.

   “Yeah, I have a dentist’s appointment I need to get to,” Hazel frowned as she stood up, pulling on her jacket. “It was great to see you guys though, it’s been a while since we were all together.”

   Leo huffed, crossing his arms and pointedly looking away from Piper. “Well, if someone wasn’t gone all the time—“

   “Oh, shut up, you’re just jealous I can travel,” Piper shoved at him, grinning. “I offered you to go in my carry on, that’s your bad you didn’t accept.”

   “‘ Mememe, go in my carry on—‘ SHUT UP.”

   Jason draped his arm across Leo’s shoulders. “Send us photos of Kokomo,” he requested with a gentle smile.

   Piper smiled even wider, stepping back to be beside Reyna. “Send me that single you’re working on, yeah?”

   “Deal.”

   “Excuse you, I did not agree to those terms,” Percy clarified, pointing at them as the group began to make their way out of the restaurant. “I want pictures of Kokomo and a keychain from the airport.”

   “He makes a fair point—“ Leo nodded, crossing his arms over his chest “—I want one too.”

   “Alright, I’ll get all four of you keychains if Leo bakes cookies when I get back.”

   Nico stuck out his hand to Piper. “Done.”

   Piper gave his hand a firm shake, smirking. “Pleasure doin’ business with ya.”

   “Nico?”

   He couldn’t tell if it was more embarrassing that everyone in their group stopped and turned around to look, or that he had blushed at the mere mention of his name from Will.

   Will stood beside his table, and he seemed delighted to be seeing Nico right now. Yes, delighted was the word to use here. His eyes shined and there was an anticipation to his stance that showed he wasn’t sure what he was allowed, but he wanted it to be something.

   “H-hi, Will.” He was breathless. He didn’t want to be.

   Will’s smile was too soft and too gentle for Nico’s well-being, especially when he was near positive that Will was currently on a date.

   A date, when Nico thought for the first time that maybe Will was different.

   The least you deserve is patience.

   Nico frowned, balling his fists at his sides and focusing his gaze to Will’s chest. He could see Will falter and glance around at the group, and it hurt Nico’s chest.

   “Hey, Will,” Percy clapped his shoulder. “Long time no see.”

   Will chuckled. “Yeah, it’s been a minute. You guys have a good meal?” He asked the group, smiling politely.

   “I think it’s pretty hard to have a bad meal in a place like this,” Percy joked.

  “Oh, Will, you’re here with your dad?” Annabeth noted, holding her hand out to the man Will had been sitting with. “Hello, Apollo, good to see you again.”

   “Ah, sup Apollo!” Percy smiled.

   “Always a pleasure, Annabeth, Percy.”

   Nico didn’t have time to feel relieved when the only real thought going through his head was that’s his dad ?

   His head snapped up, eyes immediately going to the man. Honestly, Nico couldn’t really see the resemblance except for the eyes. They were the same sort of powder blue, but Apollo had no freckles and he was less tan. His hair was nearly a platinum as opposed to the honey color Will had, and it wasn’t a curly mess like Will’s either. If anything, he looked like a bland and cheap remake of his son.

   “Well, I oughta let you guys go, I’m sure you’ve got places to be,” Will excused as he bounced his heel on the ground. “It was nice to see you all though, have a good rest of your day.”

   Nico smacked his forehead only once they had gotten home and he was in the safety of his own room.

- -

Are we okay?

What?

You seemed off today when I said hi. I’m sorry if I did something, I don’t want you to be upset

No don’t worry about it I was just in my head

We’re good

Okay

Let me know if there’s anything I can do [:

   Nico frowned at his phone, reading over the texts again. It all seemed wrong.

   Maybe it was just Nico, but he thought that Will should be more pressed about that answer. It was so vague, and he had been so mad at Will for genuinely no reason other than his own jealousy, Will should be the one who’s upset. Sure, Will didn’t really know that Nico had been jealous of his father, but Nico should have to text Will to apologize about today. He should be the one to reach out and give an explanation for his behavior.

   Will Solace was too good.

   Why did Nico care so much? He had no reason to, not when he’d been talking to Will for a week, maybe two. But Will was hoping to share that with Nico, his goodness. Maybe that’s why Nico cared. He wasn’t sure he deserved to be given something— someone— so good. It couldn’t possibly be fair when he would have little to offer in return. There was no way he truly deserved so much patience and care and affection when he was like this. Getting jealous with no context, carving into words and trying to understand what they meant. Nobody else was like this, he was pretty sure, so why would Nico be the only person who Will seemed to want to share himself with.

   Nothing made sense at this point. Nico was positive that his thoughts were going in circles. That same process of wondering why he cared so much to concluding that he didn’t deserve Will was one he’d been through multiple times in the past hour. He stared at his phone and tried to figure out why Will would still put up with him after today, and then he’d scroll back and forth a few times to see if maybe his texts could answer. They couldn’t.

   But he probably knew the answer anyway. What Nico needed to know was what he wanted.

   Usually Nico wasn’t this unsure of himself. He could confidently tell you what he wanted, and it was simply up to whether or not he actually tried to get it. They were different things, but this was not the reason he was struggling right now. For the first time in probably forever, Nico didn’t actually know what he wanted, and that was terrifying. One way or another, even if it was unachievable, he knew what he wanted, but right now he could not clearly answer his questions.

   The scrape in his skull told him no. The way his hands trembled said yes. There was too much all at once, all telling him something different.

   The least you deserve is patience.

   Will didn’t care if he had to wait a hundred years for Nico to make a decision, did he? It didn’t matter to him if Nico said they should get married tomorrow, it didn’t matter if Nico said he might never be able to touch Will again. What mattered to Will was Nico’s happiness. All he wanted was for Nico to know he was loved.

   Loved.

   By Will.

   It hadn’t crossed Nico’s mind until this point that maybe that’s what Will was getting at this whole time. He was in love with Nico, and he was willing to wait for him to be loved back even just a fraction in return.

   Of course Will was in love with Nico, it made more sense than most things. How long had it been that way, though? Since the party? Before? No, that couldn’t be possible. Nico barely knew Will, there was no way Will could have loved him for long. Maybe it wasn’t love, maybe Nico was getting ahead of himself. But he knew for certain that Will probably felt—at the very least—affectionately for him. He wanted Nico to be happy. He wanted Nico to know that’s what he wanted. That wasn’t nothing.

   What was Nico supposed to do with this?

   Nico looked down to his phone again, the screen having gone dark and leaving his murky reflection to look back at him. He was turning on his phone and drafting out a text before he could think much better of it.

Can I see you

Today

Please

   Before Nico could consider feeling embarrassed for sending three texts in a row, Will was responding.

Yea where do you want to meet?

Can I just come over to your place? Where do you live??

I’m in Harlem, you’re not walking are you ?

I’ll drive. Send me your address

   Will sent Nico the address while he yanked on a jacket over his hoodie and shoved his keys into his pocket. He didn’t drive often, he preferred if he could just avoid it so he didn’t have to try and find parking again. But, he did in fact have a car, a lil dinky thing from the mid 2000s that got him by just fine. It was nothing to brag about, though Nico would say that owning a car at all was a feat not met by many he knew (namely, Percy).

   Nico parked in a free lot a block or so away from Will’s complex, pulling out his phone as he turned off the ignition.

How should I get in

Are you here?? I’ll come meet you at the front

Okay, see you soon

   Nico wasn’t honestly sure what he was doing, but it was too late to turn back now. Maybe he didn’t even have to bring up anything about feelings, in all honesty he did just want to see Will. Though, lately, he kind of always wanted to see Will. Things were nicer with him around, easier. He liked that he didn’t have to think about what he said, he just kind of said it and went with it. Will always had an answer, or another question, or he had something for Nico to answer or ask. There was so few people Nico felt like he could talk to forever, much less people that he wanted to talk to forever. It was such a warm feeling to feel like that. Such small moments felt so special.

   The small moments, the ones where Nico felt alive.

   Will felt like small moments. Will felt like life. Will felt like the pinpricks of raindrops currently falling on Nico’s cheeks that reminded him of reality. Will felt like all the in betweens that Nico had fallen in love with ever since Hazel had asked that question.

   “Sunshine!”

   His gaze snapped up, and he looked to his right to realize that he had nearly walked straight past the building in his daze. Will stood at the the side entrance of a tall apartment building, waving wildly at Nico with a bright grin. He was wearing ragged grey sweats with a hole in the knee and a white t-shirt with a bright green T-rex on the front that was already getting dampened with rain. Even though Nico was basically wearing the same thing—black sweats and a black hoodie—he nearly felt overdressed because Will looked so boyish. The only thing Nico could really think of was just how goofy this moment was.

   He couldn’t help his gentle smile as he jogged towards Will.

   “You don’t have my sweatshirt,” Will noted as he let Nico through the door, letting it fall closed behind them.

   Nico pulled his hands out of his hoodie pockets as he turned around to Will and raised his eyebrows. “Did you want it back?”

   “ No —“ Will drawled like it was obvious, yanking one side of the drawstrings of Nico’s hood to make them uneven “—I wanted to see you in it.”

   “Hey!” Nico tugged the strings back to normal, and Will flicked his nose when he went to scowl at him. “I can just leave.”

   “You’re the one who asked to hang out.”

   “You agreed.”

   Will rolled his eyes, grabbing Nico’s wrist to begin dragging him to an elevator down the hall. “So difficult, Di Angelo, and for what?”

   “I can’t have you thinking I’m anything less than insufferable,” Nico informed.

   “You have failed miserably.”

   Nico wasn’t sure if he should blush or glare, but Will saved him the struggle by pressing the button to the top floor and turning to him.

   “My dad said today that your father was an insufferable man, actually, I didn’t believe him,” Will continued as he leaned against the wall of the elevator. “But I suppose you had to get it from somewhere.”

   Nico rolled his eyes, fiddling with his ring as he leaned against the opposite wall while they began to move up. “I thought I wasn’t insufferable.”

   “No, you just have a few redeeming qualities too, I guess.”

   Nico glared.

   Will nudged his socked foot on Nico’s shoe. “What’s your dad like? Actually? Dad can be such a drama queen, I doubt your father is really any bad.”

   Nico shrugged. “He’s a business man. He loves his kids, he just doesn’t give them much time.”

   Will frowned, scrunching his nose. “Yeah, I get it. My dad took me to lunch only so I could go with him to a meeting with some business they might collaborate with or something. I’m not really sure what was going on, but he says they make it less boring if he tells them he’s bringing his son.”

   Nico tilted his head. “Is it really not interesting at all to sit in on those?”

   Will shook his head as the elevator dinged, standing up straight as the doors slid opened. “Not at all, they were talking about marketing demographics for some kids toy. I would have said no, but the man pays my school tuition, so I’ll sit for a few hours and listen to them talk about the psychographics of an 8 year old boy.”

   Nico chuckled, following Will out of the elevator to an apartment at the end of the hall. “Yeah, gotta love the trust fund baby hustle. Pretty adverse in it myself.”

   Will pulled out his keys and went to unlock his door, smirking as he turned to Nico. “If they can’t be good fathers, at least they can pay us to think they are,” he joked before he pushed the door open into a small apartment.

   Nico stepped into a little kitchen area, which was open to a living room with a couch and a rather old coffee table covered in scattered papers and an open laptop. There was a tv standing on some boxes, along with a gaming console and the controllers. A short hall next to the tv lead to a bathroom on one side and what Nico assumed must have been Will’s bedroom on the exact opposite. The far wall had a bay window, which looked out over the busy street, adorned in some dainty curtains and some pillows that must have been from his mom.

   “Oh, wow,” Nico marveled as he distractedly stepped off his shoes, going over to the bay window to kneel on the cushions and look out over it. “Lucky view, no window in our apartment has a look like this.”

   “I wish I could appreciate it more, I’m not much of a nook person,” Will said as he closed his laptop and tried to clear up the coffee table a bit. “Sorry it’s a bit cluttered, I was doing some work.”

   “Don’t worry, I live with 3 boys,” Nico assured as he turned to watch Will and properly sit on the bench. “No mess could bother me.”

   Will shrugged, giving Nico a dopey smile. “The principal of the thing.”

   Nico smiled, just barely, watching Will for a moment. The soft rainy light coming from the window washed Will a gentle blue, which somehow made him look more warm. He realized they were just staring at each other and patted the spot next to him on the seat of the window. Will came over silently, and he looked at Nico again. All of him, it seemed. Like he could look at Nico’s soul with just a simple glance.

   Nico frowned.

   “I need to be honest with you,” he admitted, pulling his feet up to sit crisscross and turn completely to Will. “You asked me if I was okay because I seemed off today, and I told you I was just in my head, which isn’t completely true.”

   Will furrowed his eyebrows slightly, barely tilting his head. “What’s up, Sunshine?”

   “Well—“ Nico stopped suddenly, unsure how he wanted to phrase his words. He wanted to keep a little of his pride, and saying that he thought Will’s dad was his date would not do that. But he wanted to tell him that he was… jealous? Yes. Exactly that. “Today, when I saw you with your dad, I was kind of jealous.” Yes, Nico. Good job. A small win.

   Will raised his eyebrows. “And why’s that?”

   Oh, gods above, don’t make him say more. “Because I saw a part of you I hadn’t seen yet, but it wasn’t for me. And I wanted it to be for me.”

   “I’m not sure I follow—“

   Nico groaned. Forget it. He needed no dignity, apparently. “You looked really good for lunch with your dad today, and for a moment, I thought that it was for something else other than business meetings or fancy brunches or whatever, and I got mad that it wasn’t because you were seeing me. And—“

   “Wait, wait, wait,” Will interrupted loudly, and Nico knew his plan to talk so fast that Will couldn’t process any of the words had failed. “You were jealous because you thought I was on a date with my someone? Sunshine, don’t tell me you think I’d actually play with your emotions like that.”

   Nico threw his hands to gesture very aggressively for emphasis on anything he was saying. “I don’t know! But I was so angry when I saw you because the first time I saw you in nice clothes wasn’t because you were with me, and I didn’t realize it was such a momentous occasion until I saw it.”

   “Do you want me to start dressing nicer?” Will laughed, grabbing Nico’s hands to keep him grounded.

   “No!” Nico truly couldn’t care how Will dressed for him.

   “Then what’s the point of this, Sunshine?”

   “The point is that I think I’m falling in love with you!”

   Will’s jaw dropped, and he let go of Nico’s hands enough for them to fly to his mouth to cover it. They both stared at each other for a long, silent moment, completely wide eyed and unmoving.

   Because Nico apparently no longer feared god, he slowly moved his hands just enough to whisper through them, “I’m sorry.”

   Will closed his mouth, audibly gulping. He shook his head and looked down more towards Nico’s chest, and he was glad to just barely see the hint of a smile. “Don’t be.”

   Nico opened his mouth to say something again.

   Will grabbed his hands and pulled them from his face. “Really, don’t be,” he reassured as he met Nico’s gaze again. “I know you wouldn’t just say that to say that, or anything.”

   And he’s right. Because Nico really hadn’t just said that on a whim, or anything. If he looked deep down, past his impulse, he definitely wanted a reaction from Will. Not just a reaction, but confirmation.

   Nico studied Will, biting his lip. Will didn’t quite look him in the eye, but he kept his eyes on Nico. For a moment, Nico was terrified he might have said the wrong thing, but then Will took a shaky breath that sounded very similar to a shuttering laugh and he leaned forward to rest his forehead on Nico’s shoulder. “Sorry, Sunshine, I hadn’t been expecting any confessions today, especially not from you,” he admitted, turning so his nose brushed the skin on Nico’s neck and sent shivers through him. “Give me a second to get this right.”

   Nico couldn’t help his grin, bringing a hand up to tangle into Will’s hair at the base of his skull. “Don’t worry, I didn’t think so either.”

   Will hummed, looking up at Nico with a considerable amount of distance between them now gone. “Surely, you knew before this. I’m not subtle by any means.”

   Nico shrugged, knocking his forehead into Will’s. “I didn’t really think of it until today.”

   “Oh? I must not have been clear enough when I promised to wait for you forever like a young girl saying farewell to her lover being sent off for war, I’ll write that down for future reference.”

   “Alright, to be fair, I think I was struggling with my own feelings a little too much to be worried about yours.”

   “Ouch.”

   Nico tugged at some of his hair. “I thought you had an angle or something you were getting at, I don’t know. Genuine affection seemed like it was off the table.”

   “ Ouch.”

   Nico rolled his eyes. “It didn’t seem reasonable when we’ve only really known each other for a short amount of time.”

   “What can I say? It’s like love at first sight,” Will teased with a smug grin. “Either way, I wouldn’t say it’s a full send yet, I’ve just definitely been crushing on you for a long time.”

   “How long?”

   “I dunno. A while. It wasn’t really anything serious, it wasn’t until we were hanging out after the party that I thought about it more seriously. You were talking about Italy and I thought it would be nice to have someone talk about me like that. Like I’m something to be yearned.” He’s not sure when they started whispering, but Nico didn’t mind that it seemed like they were exchanging secrets.

   Nico scrunched his nose. “I barely even said anything about it though.”

   “Yeah, but, you meant a lot with it,” Will pulled his head away enough to properly look at Nico, smiling softly. “The way you said it, the way you talked about playing the bass, I wanted you to tell me about everything you felt that way about, and at the end I wanted you to add me to the very top of the list.”

   “You make it seem like I’m holding secrets to the universe in my words,” Nico teased.

   “That’s exactly what it is.”

   Nico shook his head, looking away from Will. “No, now you’re just saying things,” he denied as he stood up. He fidgeted with his ring as he looked down at Will. “You’re not cute when you’re just flirting to flirt.”

   “I’m not just saying things, I mean it.” Will grabbed the front of Nico’s sweatshirt and tugged, yanking him forward so he tumbled towards Will. He used the momentum to sit Nico on his lap, one leg on each side of him. “Believe it or not, I like to give you compliments because they’re true, not because I think it’s what you want to hear.”

   Nico rested his hands on Will’s shoulders, frowning down at him. “You never stop, do you?” Will’s cold fingers tucked under the hem of Nico’s shirt and laid on the bare skin of his waist. It took a lot not to shiver. “There is just always something else for you to say.”

   “You like it.”

   “I suppose you should know.”

   “How considerate.”

   “Are you ever going to kiss me?”

   “I’m waiting for you to tell me to.”

   “I think we’re a little past that, don’t you?”

   “I am never past consent, Sunshine. Who do you think I am?”

   “Someone who needs to stop talking.”

   “ You like it. ”

   Nico rolled his eyes, unable to hide his smile as he grabbed Will’s face in his hands and pressed their noses together. “Just kiss me, Solace.”

   And immediately, Will closed the space between them, wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist and pulling him impossibly close. Nico let his hands run through Will’s hair and pull at the curls, relishing how the cold hands on his back felt hot against his skin. He never understood how a kiss might be dizzying until now, when he was sure that he could kiss Will until he lost his breath and he went lightheaded.

   When they did pull away, Nico kept their foreheads pressed together, struggling to open his eyes again to look at Will. He pressed his thumb onto the corner of Will’s jaw, then trailed it down the side of his neck to hold his shoulder. His eyes barely fluttered open, and Will was watching him with a gentle gaze that seemed like simple curiosity.

   For once in his life, he felt no dull scratch in his skull telling him to run. Instead, everything was still.

- -

   “Okay, okay, okay, but if it came down to it, would you choose me or the cat?”

   “If you can’t save yourself from drowning, you shouldn’t have gone in the water.”

   “It’s hypothetical!”

   “Then hypothetically you shouldn’t have gone in the water, learn how to hypothetically swim better.”

    Leo gaped, looking from Nico to Jason as he sat down next to him. “Are you hearing this?” He complained loudly, gesturing wildly to Nico for show. “He would save a cat over his own friend, this is ridiculous!”

   Nico took a bite of waffle. “Hypothetically.”

   Leo glared at him. “‘Hypothetically’—“ he mocked before dropping his voice to growl “—que te folle un pez.”

   Nico stuck his tongue out at him. “Pringado.”

   Leo gasped, jaw dropping in disbelief. “Pezzo di merda,” he declared, flipping Nico off.

   Jason seemed like he was nearly in tears as he ran his hands through his hair. “Did you guys switch languages?”

   “We need to make a new rule—no being bilingual until noon, except on holidays,” Percy decided, putting an aggressive amount of blueberries on his waffle.

   “Does that include business holidays?”

   “If you don’t personally celebrate it, it doesn’t count.”

   Leo huffed stealing bacon off of Jason’s plate. “You take all the fun out of breakfast, it’s going to be so boring now.”

   “It’s only going to be boring because you have no other personality trait but being being annoying,” Nico jabbed.

   Leo pouted. “ Jason, make him take it back,” he complained as he fell into Jason’s side, who really seemed like he was at his limit for the morning.

   “Why is Leo crying?” Will asked as he walked into the kitchen.

   “Nico’s being mean.”

   “You told me to get fucked by a fish.”

   “You called me an annoying loser.”

   “I said annoying and a loser—separately, there’s a difference.”

   Will patted Nico’s head as he sat next to him. “You’re going to give Jason an aneurysm, Sunshine.”

   Nico huffed, slumping back in his seat.

   Percy handed a plate with a waffle on it over to Will, which he took with a smile.

   “So Will, I’ve been thinking, if you’re going to become a frequent visitor of the apartment—“

   “He’s stayed over one other night.”

   “—then I think it would be good for you to know some ground rules,” Leo continued anyways, cutting into Jason’s waffle before being batted away. “We technically have breakfast everyday to promote healthy eating habits, but it’s mandatory attendance for the four of us on Saturday mornings and Sunday a little later for brunch. If you have an allergy, you better let me know so I don’t kill you on accident. You cannot insult in any language besides English—or, I guess now you can only speak English at all before 12.”

   Will nodded along silently, cutting his waffle into pieces. “Okay, sounds pretty standard. Anything else? Do you wear pink on Wednesdays, or…?”

   “No, we believe in embracing masculinity all days of the week, 24/7.”

   “Oh, but, we do actually encourage to be the worst dressed on Sundays,” Percy added as he pointed at Will with his fork. “You know, who had the toughest night type beat.”

   Will grinned, taking a bite of his waffle as he kicked his foot to Nico’s ankle. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

   Nico pushed his foot back against Will’s. “Who says I’ll be having you over that often?”

   “I suppose you have been staying over at his place a lot too,” Percy joked. “You better not miss a mandatory breakfast for him.”

   “How come I spend the night at his house a few times and it’s the end of the world, but you disappear at Annabeth’s place for weeks at a time and I don’t say a thing about it?”

   “Because I’m not the baby of the house, and you are.”

   Nico glared and Percy smirked triumphantly, but he didn’t care too much when he turned away and Will whispered in his ear. “This is fun,” he mused as Jason ranted about his optometrist appointment the other day. “Thank you for letting me stay over.”

   “Sorry it’s so chaotic,” Nico mumbled back, turning to look at Will. “I’d say it’s not usually this bad but that’s because it’s worse.”

   Will chuckled, light and airy and just a hint sleepy. He bonked his forehead on Nico’s for a moment before returning back to the distance. “Don’t apologize, I like it.”

   “Okay,” Nico hummed, content to accept that it truly was okay. He believed that Will meant his endearments about the situation.

   After breakfast, Will had to leave for work, which wasn’t Nico’s favorite thing, but he supposed being a doctor took a lot of time (he wanted to be a pediatrician (Nico nearly married him on the spot (something about a man being good with kids))). Before he left, they stood in the hall outside of the apartment, and Will kissed Nico’s forehead as he promised to text him when he was done, then mumbled goodbye.

   When he retreated back into the apartment, Jason and Leo were in a tangle on the couch watching some reality tv show while Percy loudly complained about the wifi being slow. Jason readjusted to give Nico more room to sit on the couch, which he took gratefully with a sigh. He ended up staying there for most of the day—he had nothing to do and they had no gigs to play tonight, so he didn’t move unless he wanted to for a good chunk of the day. Eventually Annabeth came over, and she joined Percy on the floor to watch the trashy television show with everyone and talk softly about whatever didn’t matter.

Just got off :p

Are you home?

Just for a minute I’m going to get food. Have you eaten? I’ll bring you something

Ok. Whatever you think I’ll like

Sounds good !! See you soon [:

   Nico smiled down at his phone, but he didn’t stop himself soon enough to not have Leo aggressively look over his shoulder and wiggle his eyebrows. He stuck out his tongue in response, Leo grinned and fell into his shoulder.

   Small moments.

   Will ended up getting 2 pepperoni pizzas and bringing them to the apartment under the assumption that if Nico hadn’t eaten, none of them had. They all sat around the living room and ate pizza while they talked loudly and sort of watched tv. Eventually, Will tugged Nico off the couch to bring him down to the ground with him, and he had Nico sit between his legs and hugged his arms around his waist from behind. He rested back against the couch and hooked his chin over Nico’s shoulder. Nico fumbled with Will’s hands (they were cold, and the rest of Will’s body was hot) as he absentmindedly joined a debate on pickles and peanut butter.

   At some point, when the room was all nearly asleep, Will tucked his face into Nico’s neck and pressed his nose against the skin. “You make me happy. Thank you.”

   Such simple words and Nico was melting into every point of contact they possibly held. He bonked his head into Will’s then turned to whisper into his ear. “And you make me feel alive. You’re amazing.”

   Will grinned, hugging Nico tighter. “We should go to bed,” he suggested.

   “Okay,” Nico agreed with a nod, shifting away from Will to stand up, only to be tugged back into place before he got too far. “Wh—?”

   “I’m so glad to be part of your life.”

   Nico did his best to press back a smile, elbowing Will away to finally get off the ground. “You’re a hopeless romantic, Solace,” he teased, holding out his hand for Will.

   “Well, I don’t think I’m the only one,” Will smirked as he took Nico’s hand and pulled himself up. “Come on.”

   Nico fell into his bed almost immediately, but Will took a long look around his room. He traced his fingers along the wall, brushing over posters and chipped paint with a gentle graze of his fingertips. It wasn’t like this was the first time Will had been in his room, but he still seemed to take a rather tentative approach to the one window Nico had, which led to a fire escape and faced a brick wall. Nico hugged his pillow as he watched, face shoved into the cushion. When Will looked at him, his eyes were shimmering in the dull orange light that soaked through the glass. He smiled, and Nico smiled back.

   What a small moment.

   Will came to the bed as Nico tossed away the pillow, rolling over Nico and grabbing him to hug him to his chest instead, giggles filling the room. Nico pressed their foreheads and noses together and did nothing to hide his happiness.

   What a good life.