The wind bit at Will's face. He glanced over at Nico nervously. His boyfriends' eyes were cast towards the New York City skyline, the lights from the buildings reflecting in his pupils.

They were standing on the top of the Empire State building.

And Will was about to propose.

He patted his pocket again, anxiously running the speech he'd prepared in his head. How much of it he'd be able to remember once he was kneeling with the ring box in his hand, Will didn't know. But he knew the things that he wanted to say.

He ran through the events of the day in his head. They'd started off at Camp, for the annual reunion of all demigods who fought in the wars (that were still alive). But it was the last day of the three-day event, so at around three, they said their goodbyes and got in the car.

Once they'd arrived in New York City and found a place to park (which took literal hours), they started to wander. Even thought they'd both spent most of their adolescence an hour away, neither of them had been to the city more than twice, and one of those times was to fight oncoming titans' armies. So they hadn't exactly had time for sightseeing.

Eventually, they found a little hole-in-the-wall deli where they decided to stop and eat. It wasn't fancy, but it was cozy and odd, with little trinkets lining the walls. The two of them liked to do this often; just go explore in whatever city they were in and look for the most interesting places they could find.

Once they were done, they left to wander again, but soon found themselves in an ice cream shop with cream colored walls. They ate their cones on a nearby bridge, watching the sun set. Will had smiled at his arm linked with Nico's.

All of this so far had been impromptu, off the cuff; "We'll figure it out" was practically their life motto at this point. But there was one part of the evening that they had planned.

So, once the sun was set and darkness settled over New York, they had turned in their tickets and ridden the elevator up to the observation deck.

Which brought Will to where he was now. Leaning on a fenced rail, watching his beautiful boyfriend think. Another bout of anxiety made his heart seize up as he remembered what was in his pocket.

Nico noticed. He tore his gaze away from the skyline- and, gods, he was even more beautiful when looking at Will- and cocked his head, a hand slipping up Will's arm to hold his shoulder reassuringly.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. Will nodded without saying a word, trying to swallow through his dry mouth.

"Yeah. Just- it's breathtaking."

Nico hummed in agreement, turning back to look at the buildings. "It is a bit nicer when there's not a battle going on, isn't it?" He glanced at Will, a smile tugging at his lips. "You did mean the view, right?"

Will clamped his arm around Nico's waist, mumbling in his ear: "Yeah. The view… and you."

Nico grinned. "I knew you'd say that. Dork."

Will smiled against Nico's hair before remembering why they were up there. He pulled back quickly, swiping his hand across his pocket to make sure the box was still there. Not that it could have gone anywhere.

"Actually…" he said at Nico's quizzical look. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yeah?"

Will took a deep, shaky breath, holding both of Nico's hands in his own. "We've been dating for almost ten years now. Since we were fourteen. Since we were kids."

Nico raised an eyebrow, perhaps suspecting where Will was going with this.

"We've watched each other grow up. You've helped me grow up. I hope… I've done the same for you." Will smiled. "And I'll continue to try to do the same for you, because still, every day, you teach me new things. You help me be the best-" he let out a breath at Nico's rapidly deteriorating composure. "-the best person I can be. And I… well, honestly, I don't know how I could make you any better than you are now, but I'll be damned if I don't try."

He laughed a little. Nico smiled back, but there were tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. There were tears in Will's eyes, too.

"You make every day better. You- You make every moment I'm awake better. And my dreams, too." A tear found its way down Will's cheek, and he brushed it away with his shoulder. "Nico, I… everything you do, everything you are, amazes me. I love… I love how the first thing you do every morning is kiss me on the cheek, and I love how you're so determined to never, ever let your sister get hurt, and I love how you'll never leave a task alone once you've started with it and how you smile whenever we banter and how you always push that one stubborn strand of hair out of your face and-" Will gasped in a breath. Having to breathe was the only thing that would stop his rambling; if he could, he'd go on for hours. But Nico was already an emotional mess, so Will took another shaky breath and said: "I love you."

He released both of Nico's hands, pulling the ring box out of his pocket. "So," he said, dipping to one knee, "Nico di Angelo, the love of my life-" He opened the box. "Will you marry me?"

Tears were streaming down Nico's face freely now. He didn't try to stop them. He nodded mutely, nodded over and over again. When he finally found his voice again, he said "Y-Yes. Yes. Oh gods, yes."

Will stood up, taking the ring out of the box. He tried to slip it onto Nico's finger, but both of their hands were shaking. Eventually, though, he managed to slide it on.

Nico pulled Will into a heated kiss the second the ring was on his finger. Will faintly heard people clapping around them, but didn't care enough to listen. Nico's hands were cupping Will's cheeks, wiping away tears as they fell.

When they finally pulled away, Nico gave a nervous, wet laugh, and then said: "You know what's funny?"

"What?"

Nico pulled another ring box out of his own pocket. "I was going to- not tonight, but I was going to-"

Will laughed out loud. "Really? You were planning on proposing to me?" Nico nodded, grinning. "Man, we really should've coordinated that better."

"We're the worst," Nico agreed. "No, wait, you're the worst," he joked. "You ruined this entire speech I wrote! I had everything planned out, it was gonna be super emotional- why'd you have to go and propose first?" His eyes were shining. Will laughed.

"Well, I'll tell you what. How about we go out to some restaurant soon and you can give your speech then- hey, maybe we'll even get some free food for it!"

Nico pulled Will close again, touching their foreheads together. "Sure. And then I'll make you cry like a baby."

"Oh, I already am."

Nico kissed Will again, quickly, and then pulled away, but kept his hand fisted in Will's shirt. He didn't seem to want to let go. Will didn't either.

When they walked back into the elevator, hand in hand, Will felt like he was floating on air.