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1.
Not everybody at Camp Half-Blood knew that Nico was Italian, but it wasn’t exactly a secret, his accent still showed up when he was tired or had just shadow-traveled.
But Will was still surprised when he discovered that, sometimes, Nico kind of ranted in Italian at random moments.
The first time he heard him was before their first date.
Will was supposed to pick up Nico at the Hades Cabin an hour before the campfire, at 8 o’clock, but he arrived early.
Obiouvsly he was just really fast at getting ready and not anxious at all.
When he arrived, Nico was stress-walking in front of his bed, with all his clothes displayed over it.
Will felt like a creep for staring at him through the half-open door, but he was too interested to knock.
Then Nico started rambling in his native language:“sta maglia fa schifo, non posso mettermela ad un appuntamento, Will penserà che so un barbone.” “This shirt sucks, I can’t wear it to a date, Will is going to think I’m homeless.”
Will became even more interested after hearing his name, even if it sounded like wheel, it was hot, in its own way.
His face, as red as a pepper testified it.
“Perché tutti i mi pantaloni sono stappati. Argh…basta mi metto a piange.” “Why all my trousers have holes. Argh…stop i’m going to cry.”
Nico started pulling his air and making angry noises, he was visibily annoyed. Will was going to enter and stop him when he calmed himself down.
“Calmo, Nico, calmo, adesso scegli una maglietta del campo pulita e dei pantaloni che non ti stanno larghi, non è un appuntamento formale, andrà tutto bene.” “Calm, Nico, calm, now you’re going to pick a clean camp t-shirt and some trousers that don’t fit you wide, it’s not a formal date, everything is going to be alright.”
Nico finally picked up some clothes and got dressed (Will closed his eyes, he might be a creep, but not that much).
2.
The second time he hears Nico speaking Italian they were both working in the infirmary.
After capture the flag there was always someone needing stitches, and Nico liked helping his boyfriend with bandages and other things that didn’t involve healing powers.
Will nearly made Travis Stoll choke on nectar when he heard him.
It sounded like Nico was complainig about something while bandaging Kayla’s wrist: “Ma come cazzo fa la gente a fassi male in modo così stupido, e poi tocca a Will rimette sti coglioni apposto, giuro che se sviene ancora dopo aver usato troppo i su poteri…”
“How the fuck can people hurt themselves in such a stupid way, and then Will has to put back on this assholes. I swear, if he passes out again after using too much of his powers… “
Will didn’t know if he should be worried or not, but he couldn’t even think about it that Travis coughed all the nectar on him.
“Are you trying to kill me or what, mate?”
Will apologized immediately: “Sorry Trav, I was…Uhh…Thinking about medical supplies…” Travis started laughing so hard that nectar flew out of his nose and he started coughing again. Will nearly threw up.
“What’s so funny about that?” He complained, “Nothing, I just find you drooling over your boyfriend speaking Italian and then denying it extremely hilarious.” Travis continued laughing incontrollably making him even more frustrated. “I wasn’t doing that!” Will shouted, “We all belive that, man.” Travis responded.
And maybe, just maybe, the Hermes’ child was right. He hoped they wouldn’t tease Nico about that.
3.
Nico had been training in the arena for hours, even after everyone went to dinner. Will didn’t want to interrupt him, his boyfriend usually elaborated things that way, but he was still his doctor, and he wanted all his patients to eat.
He brought a sandwich and a water bottle to feed Nico, although he was surely going to lecture him on the importance of “real” food.
On his walk to the training arena, Will detected a glimpse of a foreign melody.
Nico was singing.
He didn’t have an angel’s voice like many of his siblings, but he wasn’t bad.
After a few meters Will caught the Italian words:
“Fischia il vento e infuria la bufera
Scarpe rotte eppur bisogna andar
A conquistare la rossa primavera
Dove sorge il sol dell’avvenir”
“The wind blows and the storm infuriates
Brocken shoes but we must go
To conquer the red spring
Where the sun of the future rises”
While singing Nico kept slaying mannequins like a madman and obviously the Apollo’s kid watched him like he hung the moon.
The curfew was about to set when Chiron arrived, Will waved at him and the centaur trotted towards the stands.
“It’s been a long time since I last heard that song, sometimes I forget Nico’s from the 1930s.” “me too.” The blonde one replied.
“What’s the meaning of that song, and why do you know it? Is it famous or something?”
Chiron let out a long sigh then said: “It’s about rebellion, kid, rebellion.” then the mentor got up and collected Nico.
Will finally gave the sandwich to his boy, who promptly scowled at him.
4.
Will really liked kissing Nico, especially when no one else was around.
God, he loved making out with him.
They were alone in the Hades cabin, making out with each other, barely listening to the Blur CD playing in the background at an insane volume.
Will was totally enjoying that, Nico too, he supposed, since he was truly concerned about making a Will-shaped hole in the cheap mattress from how hard he was being pushed against it.
Yes, he enjoyed that very much.
He wanted to press Nico even harder against his body, hugging him so aggressively that-
“Nico, Will, are you in here? You know that closing the door‘s not allowed.”
Fuck, Will thought. Meanwhile, his boyfriend was paniking: “Chiron I’m alone I swear, let me turn down the music and I’ll let ya in” Nico babbled, his Italian accent stronger than ever.
“MerdaMerdaMerda Will nasconditi!” “ShitShitShit Will hide!” The black haired boy muttered. Fuck he was scared shitless.
“For how much I find it hot when you speak Italian, I can’t understand you right now!” Will replied.
“Quick, hide under the bed!” Will did what he was told without batting an eyelid.
Nico finally stopped the music and opened the door repriming a frightened look.
“Chiron, I’m happy to see you but… why are you here?” “I thought Will was here, isn’t he?”
“Nono, non c’è, he’s not here why are you asking me? Non so niente, I don’t know anything.” Nico answered, his olive skin looking paler than usual.
“I saw him entering in your cabin half an hour ago, has he already left?” Chiron said, his head dangerously looking at Nico’s unmade bed and swollen lips.
“Si, si, yes yep he uhh…he…lent me one of his CDs…” The excuse was pathetic but credible, so Chiron bought it, or at least he looked like he did.
“Sure, I’ll leave you to your music then.” “Goodbye, Chiron!”
Nico shut the door so hard Will thought it was going to break, and the Ghost King sank to the floor.
Just after they heard the centaur’s hooves trotting away, they burst out laughing.
“Will, don’t laugh, he scared the living shit out of me.” Will laughed even more.
In between his chuckles, the blond managed to articulate a sentence: “Ok, Ok, you’re right. I was about to be sick. And you really need to clean under your bed, you can’t just hide all the dust there.”
Five minutes later they had calmed down and Nico remembered something.
“You said I’m hot when I speak Italian”
Will’s face immediately became completely red.
“No no I didn’t!” “ Yes you did!” Nico was smiling, but that cheeky grin didn’t make Will any less miserable.
Then Nico pressed “play” on the stereo, and they were all over each other again.
5.
“Oi, Nico, have you heard that Nyssa from the Haphaestus cabin adopted a kitty?” Will told his boyfriend when he arrived at the table. “Really?” “Yes, perhaps later we can go see it.” the taller guy replied, after swallowing a spoonful of rice. Nico nodded, finishing the food on his plate.
The kitten was the most adorable thing they’d ever seen, he was a little white fluffy ball of cuteness.
Will looked like he was about to go crazy, “Be careful!” Nyssa shouted. As a response Will picked up the tiny kitty.
“Let me hold him.” Nico asked, and Will reluctantly handed him the cat.
“Ma come sei carino, ma sei proprio carino. Ti piaccio? Sembra di sì.” “Look at how cute you are, you’re so cute. Do you like me? Looks like you do.”
The feared son of Hades, who fought in 2 wars and survived Tartarus twice, was talking to a kitten in a baby voice.
Will was going to have a heart attack.
Obviously Nyssa laughed at his embarrassed expression.
Luckily Nico didn’t acknowledge him, he was too interested in the cat.
After Nyssa said that they couldn’t pet her animal forever, and the two guys had to go, Will thought he should get a pet only to hear his boyfriend talking in Italian.
+1
It was already September, and only a few campers were stayng at Camp Half-blood.
Will this time was one of them
He wanted to go home, to his mum, he truly loved her, but he loved Nico too, and he just couldn’t leave him in a desert camp with barely any friends.
Yes, Nico wasn’t anymore the human form of a shadow hiding in the corners, but the friends he managed to make were all going away for the winter and his boyfriend didn’t want him to be alone.
He still missed home. But home was Nico too
They were sitting on the pier, next to each other, Will placed an arm over Nico’s shoulders, pressing their bodies together.
Nico didn’t back away at the touch.
“I know you didn’t go home because of me,” the brunette said in an exhausted and miserable tone.
After a while Will replied: “That’s true, but you’re not a burden to me, I stayed because I love you more than anything and I want you to be happy.”
Yes, he said the L word. He didn’t mean to, but he said it.
Nico froze for approximately fifteen seconds, then started running his hand through his hair, slightly pulling at them, and let out a frustrated noise.
“I don’t know how to express myself.” He stated it in a flat voice, but gave his boyfriend a pained look.
Will, who had just survived the worst fifteen seconds of his entire life, sighed in relief and replied shyly: “Maybe you should try to say something in Italian.” Nico turned his head towards him and said, “But you don’t speak Italian.” “It doesn’t matter.”
Nico exhaled loudly, looked directly into his eyes and started talking:
“Mi hai appena detto che mi ami. Mi. Hai. Appena. Detto. Che. Mi. Ami.
Non so che dire.
Si, ti amo anch’io , è ovvio, ma non pensavo che tu provassi lo stesso.
Cioè, guardati, sei gentile, solare, anche bello.
Tutti ti amano, non riesco a capire perché hai scelto me.
Pensavo che a un certo punto ti saresti stancato di me, e che mi avresti lasciato. Anche se la parte più razionale di me sapeva che non l’avresti mai fatto.
Nonostante tutto ti amavo lo stesso, ma non pensavo che te lo avrei mai detto.
Certo che so proprio un coglione insicuro…” he laughed at himself.
“Ed ora mi dici che mi ami e che vuoi restare per me, non ho fatto niente di abbastanza buono per meritarti, ma tu sei qui lo stesso.
Forse sei un dottore abbastanza bravo da guarirmi anche dentro…Eww, questa era troppo.”
“You just told me that you love me. You. Just. Told. Me. That. You. Love. Me.
I don’t know what to say.
Yes, I love you too, that’s obvious, but I didn’t think you felt the same.
I mean, look at yourself, you’re kind, sunny and handsome too.
Everyone loves you, I can’t understand why you chose me.
I thought that at some point you would have gotten tired of me, and that you would have left me.
Even if the most rational part of me knew you would never.
Despite everything, I still loved you, but I didn’t think I would ever tell you.
I’m such an insecure moron…” he laughed at himself.
“And now you tell me that you love me and you want to stay for me, I didn’t do anything nice enough to deserve you, but you’re here anyway.
Maybe you’re a good enough doctor to heal me inside too…Eww that one was too much.”
Will wanted to cry. Even if he didn’t understand a word of what Nico said, he recognized the pain in his voice.
He held his boyfriend in an even tighter hug, as Nico whispered: “I love you too, Wil.”
Perhaps he should learn Italian.