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It was two weeks after the war with Gaia, and the last day of camp for summer-only campers. Nico found himself aimlessly wandering around the camp greens, watching as sons and daughters of Gods prepared to go home for the school year. Some cabins such as the Demeter and Athena cabins were peacefully packing their belongings and saying heartfelt goodbyes. While others such as the Hermes and Ares cabins were trying to prank or injure as many campers as they could while they still had time. Nico was watching as a girl from the Hecate cabin tried to turn her siblings into frogs, when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see Will Solace smiling down at him.
"Hey," Nico replied casually.
"Hey."
"Shouldn't you be helping your siblings pack?"
Will shrugged. "They don't need my help."
"Aren't you head counsellor though? You should be making sure that nothing crazy happens."
Will laughed. "Maybe if I was in charge of the Nike or Ares cabins, but my siblings aren't going to cause any trouble."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a saxophone crashed through a window of the Apollo cabin and flew outside onto the grass.
"Is that Austin's saxophone?" Nico asked in amusement.
Will sighed. "I guess I was wrong." He started to walk to the cabin, but then looked back. "Do you wanna sit with me at the campfire tonight?"
"Oh yeah, sure," Nico mumbled out quickly.
Will gave him a big grin then ran towards his cabin.
Nico was very aware of the butterflies in his stomach, and the flush creeping onto his cheeks. He also was very aware of his blossoming feelings for the son of Apollo. His initial thought had been to ignore Will so that he could spare himself another hopeless crush, but he found himself unable to stay away from the boy. Nico doubted that Will was.... like him, but he knew that Apollo had has both male and female lovers. So hopefully his son wouldn’t be disgusted by Nico’s preferences. If Will ever found out about his feelings, he figured that it wouldn't be the end of the world. Or at least, that was the reason he stuck with whenever he found himself walking towards the infirmary.
Nico was pulled out of his thoughts when a chorus of screams erupted from the Aphrodite cabin. He looked over to see a group of Aphrodite siblings, Piper, Mitchell, Lacy, and Valentina chatting excitedly outside the cabin. Nico decided that he had nothing better to do, so he walked over to see what the commotion was about.
"Did you actually talk to him?" he heard Mitchell ask Lacy as he got closer to the cabin.
She nodded. "He told me to write to him over the summer, and he gave me his address!"
"Oh, hey Nico," Piper said when she noticed the son of Hades standing off to the side.
"Hi," Nico replied awkwardly, "I heard yelling and I was just wondering what was going on."
Lacy jumped up and down. "I just talked to the boy I've had a crush on all summer, and I think he likes me back!"
Nico smiled, but he couldn't help feeling an emptiness in his chest. "That's awesome."
Nico saw Piper smile out of the corner of his eye. He had started to notice that it always made the seven happy when he made an effort to be friendly with other campers.
"Did you feel the spark?" Valentina asked.
Lacy started nodding rapidly, causing her siblings to squeal excitedly.
Nico was very confused. "What does that mean?"
Mitchell rolled his eyes. "Usually when demigods touch their soulmate the first few times, they feel a spark flow through their entire body."
"Soulmate?" Nico questioned.
"There aren't that many demigods," Valentina explained, "So many of us have a perfect soulmate, otherwise known as perfect match. Someone that you belong with."
"Oh," Nico said with a sigh, "Like that myth where humans used to have four arms, four legs, and two faces. Then they were separated into two different beings, thus explaining why men and women seek each other out. To find their better half."
"Kinda, but soulmates aren't always a boy and a girl. It can be two boys or two girls," Mitchell added.
Suddenly Nico felt his entire body tense up. "What?" he asked quietly.
"Nico, I knew you grew up in a time where being queer was considered wrong, but people are much more accepting now, and sometimes two people of the same sex are meant to be together," Piper explained while her siblings nodded.
"Okay, well I gotta go. Bye," Nico said quickly before he sped off.
A million thoughts were flying through Nico’s brain, but one took front and center. It was the fact that he knew he had felt 'the spark'. It was two weeks prior during the final battle of Gaia, when Will Solace had grabbed his hands. Nico had felt an electrical current flow through his entire body. It was unlike any physical contact he had ever experienced before. He needed to make sure that it was real. He needed to find Will.
When Nico walked up to the Apollo Cabin, his ears were immediately harassed. Conflicting genres of music seemed to be battling each other. One side of the cabin was blasting out pops songs while the other was blaring classic rock and roll. Nico awkwardly stood in the doorway for a few seconds before Kayla noticed him. She smiled and motioned for Nico to come in.
Nico slowly walked in the extremely loud cabin and mouthed, 'Where's Will?'
Kayla looked at him confused for a few seconds before she rolled her eyes and picked up a bow and arrow. She quickly shot two radios, causing them to explode and the music to stop.
Suddenly Austin burst out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a bath towel. "Why did you turn off the music?" He asked angrily.
Kayla pointed towards Nico. "I couldn't hear what he was saying."
Austin huffed angrily then headed back to the bathroom. "First someone tried to destroy my saxophone, and now you're turning off my music. I can't wait until everyone leaves,” he mumbled.
"You're still going to be stuck with me," Kayla said to him with a smirk as he slammed the door.
Suddenly Will Solace popped out from the back of the cabin. "Oh, hey Nico," he said with a smile.
"Hey Will," Nico said nervously, "Can I talk to you?"
Will nodded.
The two boys silently walked out of the cabin and to the outskirts of the forest.
"What did you need to talk about?" Will asked apprehensively.
"Will-"
"Nico, Wait," Will said, cutting him off, "If this is about the campfire tonight, it's fine if you don't want to sit with me. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
Nico shook his head. "It's not that."
"Oh. Then what?"
Nico took a deep breath. "Did you ever hear the myth about when humans were created?"
Will thought for a moment. "I think so, but I'm not sure."
"Well, when humans were created, they originally had four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. Zeus feared that they were too powerful, so he split them into two separate beings. This caused humans to spend their entire lives looking for their other half. Their... soulmate."
Will nodded. "Yeah I remember that."
"Do you believe in that?" Nico asked.
Will shrugged. "Maybe," He paused then added softly, "Why, do you think you found your other half?"
Nico felt the butterflies in his stomach. "Can I touch your hand?"
Will nodded and put up his right palm.
Nico slowly and delicately placed his hand on top of Will's, and a shock immediately shot through his spine.
"Did you feel that?" Nico asked.
"Yeah," Will replied with a grin. “I guess that some of the things that the Aphrodite cabin says might actually be true.”