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Generally, Nico was pretty horrible with remembering dates. He had to set multiple alarms and reminders for anything and everything important. So it was a huge stroke of luck for him that his anniversary with Will would fall on the same day as Valentine’s Day.
The story of how they’d finally started dating was one that always made Nico smile no matter how many times he recounted it. They’d been at some Valentine’s party the Aphrodite Cabin was throwing at camp, and when Nico started feeling overwhelmed by the number of people, Will recognized it and quickly pulled him away to a secluded part of the woods. They walked for a while not saying much to each other until they reached the edge of the trees, where they sat looking out at Long Island Sound.
“So the party wasn’t very fun?” Will had asked.
Nico rolled his eyes. “Sure, it was. Just… overwhelming.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty accurate. I don’t know how the Stolls managed to sneak in the booze without getting caught, but more importantly I don’t think many people understood their own limits for consumption. The infirmary should have a lot of fun patients tomorrow morning.”
Nico hummed in agreement, looking out over the water. It’d been a long night and he was starting to feel sleepy.
“On a funnier note, I think some dryad got her eyes on me so I spent a fair portion of the party trying to avoid her.”
Nico laughed. “Well I can’t blame her.” His eyes widened when he’d realized what he’d let slip. Crapcrapcrapcrap.
But Will just laughed. “Well, thanks."
Nico smiled at him quickly before looking forward again.
“Hey, you okay? You look really flushed.”
“Hm? Oh, I’m fine. Just… just still kind of overwhelmed from the party, I guess.” Please let him be gullible, just this once. Please.
Will frowned, pressing the back of his hand to Nico’s forehead. “Yep, no fever. But your heart’s racing really fast. Hopefully sitting out here is helping.”
Nico nodded. “It is,” he mumbled.
They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, each of them lost in their own thoughts. It suddenly occurred to Nico that he was sitting alone with Will Solace on Valentine’s Day . He couldn’t help but smile at that.
“What’re you smiling about?” Will asked, laughter in his voice.
Nico turned to face him, still smiling. Will looked beautiful in the moonlight. It made his eyes and hair shine more than usual, made his entire face light up in a new way.
“You.” For the second time that night, Nico blurted out something he hadn’t intended to, but this time he didn’t regret it.
Will raised his eyebrows, his smile growing even bigger. Nico liked making him smile. “Me?”
“Yes.”
What happened next was hardly even a conscious choice. After Nico started leaning forward hesitantly and he saw that Will was doing the same, there was just some invisible magnet pulling them both closer. Their lips met and Nico swore the moon shone even brighter.
Regardless, Nico seriously lucked out that their anniversary was on a holiday that everyone spent a ton of time talking about before it actually happened. He hadn’t forgotten their anniversary-- not once-- and this was their tenth. He took pride in that.
Their tenth anniversary was a special one, so Nico took even more effort to remember everything. And he remembered all of it. He remembered not to go back to sleep after waking up to pee at 6 am, so that he could be the one to make breakfast in bed for once. He remembered to get Will’s present wrapped ahead of time. He remembered to make sure his outfit for their dinner was cleaned and ironed beforehand. He didn’t forget anything.
But around lunchtime he started to worry that maybe he had.
It was Will that put him off. Will was distracted, fidgety, biting his lip a lot. Had Nico forgotten something? Had he done something wrong? Or had Will?
Nico found himself leading the conversation during their picnic that afternoon, though Will was normally the one to do so. Nico was the one bringing up new topics, as Will would nod or give short responses. A pit settled in Nico’s stomach that he couldn’t shake.
It was better once they got back to the apartment they shared. It was there that they settled on the couch, Nico wrapped in Will’s arms as they watched a movie. Not having to worry about talking, instead just being with each other, was a relief to Nico, but he knew it shouldn’t have been. Carrying on conversation shouldn’t be a chore in a relationship.
The biggest thing they had planned for that day was dinner at a nice restaurant not far from where they lived. Nico spent more time than he should have getting ready. He’d bought a brand new suit for the occasion but he was starting to doubt that it looked good on his figure. Plus his hair wasn’t cooperating and that one mole low on the left side of his face made him look like crap as usual and what on earth was going on with his eyebrows they looked so lopsided what the hell.
“You ready?” Will called. “We’ll have to leave soon if we want to get there in time.”
“Yeah!” Nico yelled back, deciding that he didn’t have time to fix anything. He’d have to go as he was.
He walked side by side with Will down the streets of New York down to the restaurant. It wasn’t terribly cold for February and the city was always beautiful at night so they didn’t see any need for a taxi.
They were seated by a wall of windows, looking down at the city lights below. Nico smiled across the table at Will, amazed by how he looked in the lighting. Will seemed to shine wherever he went, but that night he looked as beautiful as he did on that night exactly ten years ago. His hair fell in soft locks across his forehead, his smile made Nico smile back, and his pale eyes shone with so much love that all of Nico’s stress from earlier that day evaporated. Even when Will started to act nervous again towards the end of dinner, Nico ignored it, figuring he was just worried that he’d somehow screw up their big night. Nico shared that fear with him, which only made him relieved.
On their way back to the house, Nico felt completely content. The day had gone well, Will was happy, he was happy, everything was fine.
And then Nico felt something on his head and froze.
Will burst out laughing. “Oh my gods.”
“Will.”
“Yeah?” Will managed between laughs.
“Please don’t tell me a bird just shit on my head.”
“Well, I don’t want to lie to you.”
“Oh my gods. ”
In any other circumstances, Nico would’ve felt embarrassed but Will was laughing good naturedly and Nico couldn’t help but laugh with him. Will ushered his boyfriend into their apartment and sat him down in their kitchen as he used a cloth to wash out his hair.
By the time Will had finished, they were both still laughing, sitting there at their kitchen table.
“You’re beautiful,” Will blurted suddenly.
“Even when I have bird shit on my head?”
Will nodded, smiling and laughing. “Even then.”
Nico rolled his eyes.
“You never take me seriously when I call you beautiful, do you?” Will asked, sounding almost sad.
Nico shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry if I don’t sound sincere since I say it so often. But I don’t just say it because I feel obligated to or anything. Usually I don’t even intend to say it, it just kind of comes out whenever I’m looking at you.”
Nico hoped Will wouldn’t comment on how red he was. “You’re a dork.”
Will smiled. “But you love me.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Will laughed again, standing up and taking the rag he’d been using over to the sink. When he turned around and saw Nico watching him, smiling and in love, he blurted out something he didn’t mean to for the second time that night. But he didn’t regret it. “I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Nico beamed. “Me too.”
Will opened his mouth, but he closed it before trying again. “You mean it?”
“Yeah, of course. I can’t think of anyone else.”
If Nico was entirely honest with himself, he’d known for a long time that Will was the one he wanted to marry someday. Will was the one he wanted to raise a little kid with. Will was the one he wanted to grow old with in their own little house. Will was the one he wanted to laugh and cry with for every remaining day of his life. Will was the one.
But nothing could have prepared him for when Will pulled a small black box out of his pocket.
Nico’s eyes widened.
“I mean it, too,” Will said quietly, opening the box up to reveal a shining ring.
Nico’s hands flew to his mouth as his heart started hammering in his chest.
“And I mean, if you feel like it’s too soon or something, I get it and that’s completely fine, but I know this is what I want, I know I want this with you and if you feel the same way then--”
Nico was confused as to why Will was still speaking until it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t actually answered yet. “Yes!” he said louder than he’d intended to. “Yes, Will, of course yes, oh my gods.”
And then that invisible magnet was pulling them together again and they were kissing and crying as Will shakily slid the ring onto Nico’s finger.
Will’s eyes widened suddenly. “Wait, I never actually said ‘Will you marry me?’ did I?”
Nico laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. “Yes, yes I will marry you, Will.”
Years later, the story of how they’d finally gotten married was one that always made Nico smile no matter how many times he recounted it. And thank the gods it also took place on February 14th.