So just so you know, there are BoO spoilers in this. But not many. Enjoy!


Nico absolutely hated sunlight. It gave him sunburns even though he was Italian, and it made his eyes hurt, and most importantly, he had nowhere to hide. But there was one big plus to sunlight. It made shadows.

Shadows, the perfect place to hide away and not have to wear that wretched sunblock. Ugh, it's all sticky and smelly and gross, and worst of all, Will made him wear it. Even in the winter, when it was like no degrees out, Will would shoot him a look across the dining pavilion and make sure that Nico was fully protected from the sun at all times.

But luckily, today was overcast, and because Nico had recently turned 24, making Will 26, they were living in New York. For some reason, a ton of demigods lived in New York, probably because Annabeth and Percy were living there, and there were always a ton of people around to eat dinner with, or fight monsters with, whichever came up more often.

Will had naturally taken a job at New York Presbyterian Hospital, so Nico had agreed to bring him lunch. Walking down Amsterdam Avenue, it was plain to see just how much the world had changed since the 1940s. Nico had never visited New York, but he would have had to be living under a rock to not know what it looked like. The building made you feel small, but the lights made you feel larger than life. But now, New York was just like the rest of the world to him. It was plain, colorless, and generic. He could have been in any city on the planet, hold one factor: Will Solace.

How does one begin to explain Will Solace? Will was a nurse at the hospital, one of the best in New York, and frighteningly good at his job. Rumor has it that he had a say in death's opinion, and how right they were. He was called a miracle worker, saving lives that nobody else could. But it was more than that to Nico. He was about as far from dark and gloomy as you could get. He lit up the room when he walked in, throwing Nico's darkness into contrast with him bright nature. And Nico loved it.

As he turned onto West 168th street, Nico smiled to himself slightly, hoping to surprise Will with his lunch. He always forgot to bring food, and Nico always forgot to smile. Maybe together they could both remember.

All of the other nurses knew Nico, so when he showed up at the hospital, nobody said a word, Will Solace's boyfriend was always good for some amusement. Unknown to Nico, he had would up rather good looking, his dark eyes and hair standing out against his deathly pale skin. He still wasn't too tall, but years of fighting for his life had left him with what some would call, an impressive physique. His silent nature and impressive death glares hadn't made him many friends, but the nurses at the hospital all knew he was a softie when it came to Will.

One of the few times Nico smiled was when he was around Will. There was something about people who knew how awful he was and still loved him that made Nico unable to stop smiling.

As he leaned against the counter in the break room, one of the nurses who Nico knew had tried to hit on both him and his boyfriend came over.

"Hi Nico, I'm Katie Muffin, one of the nurses who works on Will's team. He's actually stuck in surgery right now, but he should be out in less than an hour." She smiled awkwardly, but Nico just nodded. She nodded and blew air out her nose with mild frustration. Nico knew he was hard to deal with. He rarely spoke or smiled, and especially when he knew that they'd been hitting on his boyfriend. She finally laughed softly to herself.

"What's so funny?" Nico asked finally, praying to every god he could remember that she would just leave it alone and not answer. Naturally he wouldn't be so lucky.

"You!" She exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. Nico nodded, but rolled his eyes slightly. Getting laughed at was nothing new.

"It's just, Will talks about you all the time, and we all thought he was joking when he said you were the strong and silent type, just cause he's so outgoing and happy, and he described you as dark and gloomy. He wasn't joking at all." Her smile didn't fade, even as Nico blinked a few times to process what she'd said.

"Will talks about me?" Nico said dubiously. He couldn't believe that Will would ever talk about him, the gloomy boyfriend.

Miss. Muffin nodded with a smile, and luckily, the door opened, sparing them from more awkward conversation. Will walked in, pulling off his gloves and mask, throwing the bloodied garments in the bin marked biohazard. He faced the sink and washed his hands, throwing a wink at Nico in the mirror. Nico prepared himself for some shenanigans.

"How are you, Katie?" Will asked, always so polite. He went to lean against the counter next to Nico, his shoulder brushing Nico's. They faced the now horribly uncomfortable nurse, both of them smiling now.

"I'm alright, Will. How'd surgery go?" Nico smiled and nodded at Will, knowing that his sarcasm wouldn't go undetected.

"It was fine, you know, all blood and gore, but nobody died, so I count that as a success." Will moved his arm so it went around Nico's shoulder. Nico smiled, knowing where this was going. Making his coworkers uncomfortable with his gayness was one of Will's favorite pastimes.

Katie made a face, but nodded, like this was normal. Then she did something totally unexpected. Her smile should have given her away.

"So Will, You won't believe what Nico just told me." Her brown eyes glittered with a secret. Nico's eyes narrowed, but his face remained carefully bored. Will smiled broadly, daring her to tell him something he didn't know. He gestured with his free hand for her to go on. His other hand was holding Nico's cold hand.

"He couldn't believe that you told us about him, beyond his existence, you know?" She laughed, but Will frowned, silently asking Nico a question, which, Nico responded to with a shrug and an eyebrow raise.

"Why would I tell them about you?" Will asked in Greek, not wanting Katie to hear their conversation.

"Why would you? I'm not exactly the most personable, and I'm certainly not worth being proud of." Nico said, his dark eyes issuing a challenge.

Katie started to ask a question, but Nico cut her off with "Greek."

Will frowned and grabbed Nico's other hand. It had taken Nico year's to get used to people touching him, but even though he'd gotten over it, he was still a bit surprised that Will would touch him. Murder was something that stained more than the soul.

"You ridiculous person. You are certainly worth being proud of. Why would you ever think I would talk about you? Literally you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're just flat out wrong if you think your past is going to affect your future. Now, smile dammit, doctor's orders." Will said passionately in Greek, to which an unfazed Nico responded quickly in English.

"Don't you mean nurses orders?" He replied sarcastically in English, a smile on his face. His dark eyes issued a challenge.

"Have I ever told you that you're a jerk?" Will asked a smile on his face now. Nico laughed a bit, but responded quickly.

"Have I ever told you that you're perfect?" Nico's smile never wavered, but Will looked like he'd just gotten the wind knocked out of him by Nico's sudden comment. After recovering, he responded.

"Have I ever told you that you're damn sexy?" Nico looked horribly uncomfortable and let go of Will's hands, his 1940s manners kicking in a bit late.

"Ugh I give up. You're offending my old fashioned values on purpose now." He mumbled through his hands, which were now covering his beet red face.

Will just smiled, and glanced at the spot where Katie had been standing. He pulled Nico's hands away from his face and replaced them with his own. Nico smiled slightly and moved his hands to Will's waist, waiting for him to make a move. The 1940s mannerisms in his head still flipped out when he touched anybody at all.

Will smiled and pulled his face closer to Nico's, so they were inches apart. They stayed like that for a moment, and then Will finally gave in. He pulled Nico's face to his and sealed his lips over his. Nico smiled slightly into the kiss, and things were getting pretty serious until Will froze.

"Shit," He said, pulling away. Nico frowned, wondering what was wrong. His hand drifted to the knife in his pocket, but Will put his hand over the knife hand and stopped it.

"There's a window right behind me. Please tell me that there's nobody who was watching." Will said, not moving his blue eyes from Nico's.

Nico smiled and blushed again, his eyes looking over Will's shoulder.

"There may be a few people who saw that." He commented, resting his pale hand on Will's hip. Will shut his eyes and swore softly in Greek.

"Not again," He said with a smile, taking his lunch from Nico. "That's the fourth day in a row. We need to be more careful."

"Doctors orders?" Nico asked sarcastically. Will nodded.

"You know it, Sunshine."


Hope you enjoyed, and please leave me a review!~M