Differences

'I got a problem with the people who got a problem with,

The way that other people wanna live'

-Hilltop Hoods, Speaking in Tongues

I my dad was listening to Hilltop Hoods, and this lyric just wouldn't get out of my head, and I thought it had a good meaning, so this is the result. Nico is 17 and Will is 18 (I think that makes it three years after the war on Gaia). Enjoy!

Will POV

Nico and I walk hand in hand around camp, but his usual almost-smile is non-existent. He's beginning to slip back into a shadow.

"Hey Nico, I'm really tired today. I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went. Then it dawned on me." I say the first joke I could think of. Nico suppresses a smile so I try again. "What did the ice say to global warming?" I ask.

"I don't know Will, what did the ice say to global warming?" Nico replies, playing along.

"You crack me up."

Nico grins, but doesn't smile.

"Come on, laugh," I tell him. "You know you want to. Doctors orders," I say as a last resort, and he finally lets out a small chuckle, remembering our old joke.

"I've got to get to archery. I'll see you later." I say, but as I turn away, I see his grin fade and the happiness leave his eyes.

"Hey Death Breath," I call, and he turns around. "We haven't gone out in a while. Lets say, Saturday at 7?"

He smiles. 'Great,' I think. 'Phase one of cheer-up-boyfriend-from-whatever-is-making-him-sad is go!'

Saturday rolls around quicker than I expected it too, and I spend most of the day in the big house in the brand-new monster-proof Leo-made Wi-Fi room, researching nice places I can take Nico. I finally settle on a place called 'Gustoso', which is an Italian restaurant not far from camp. I hope Nico likes it, because he has very high standards for Italian food. As soon as I make the booking, I run around to cabin thirteen, and knock. Nico opens it, looking pale, as usual.

"Hey Will," he grins.

"Hey Neeks," I tease. "I just dropped round to tell you to dress nice for our date tonight."

His grin drops abruptly.

"You forgot, didn't you?" I say, pretending to be stern. A slight blush creeps up his cheeks.

"Erm, maybe..." He grins cheekily. "Well, I remember it now!"

I roll my eyes, and walk off, hearing Nico laugh quietly behind me.

When it's finally 7 I hunt down Argus ('cause I still haven't got my license) and then we find Nico.

"Mr. di Angelo, this way please," I say, putting on a posh English accent.

"Thank you, Mr. Solace," he replies, trying, and failing to put on a similar accent. We both just end up laughing. Argus smiles, then heads to the car.

"So, where are we going?" he asks me.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," I tease and he rolls his eyes and turns away. Argus grins at me through the mirror, and winks, using what I believe is only 50 of his eyes. Nico is silent for the rest of the trip, despite all my efforts.

"What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire. Frostbite! What pet makes the loudest noise? A trum-pet! What did the horse say when he fell? Help, I've fallen and I can't giddy up!"

Eventually, I just give up because Nico has had loads of experience with keeping a straight face. Argus pulls up outside the restaurant and Nico lets out a low whistle.

"Looks pretty fancy," he says.

"I told you to dress nice," I reply with a smirk.

He squints up to read the sign at the door (cursing his dyslexia all the while) and manages to make out what it says.

"Tasty," he translates, "Nice."

I beam a wide smile and then open the door for him.

"Why thank you, Mr. Solace," he says, this time making his voice go all high a squeaky as well as an attempted accent. We laugh again.

"That proves it," I laugh. "I'm definitely the man in this relationship."

"Hey, no fair!" Nico protests.

"No buts. You just made my suspicions clear," I turn to Argus. "Thanks Argus. You don't have to wait for us. We can make our way back to camp on our own."

He nods, and waves goodbye, and I enter the restaurant behind Nico. The waitress shows us to our seats next to the window, perfect for people watching, one of our favourite pastimes. Nico makes up the funniest stories for people.

"Hey, see that couple over there?" he asks me.

"The really tall one and really short one?"

"Yep, those are the ones. Well, Mr. Short and Mrs. Tall are going out on a first date, because they met online. They're really nervous, and- oh, oops! Mr. Short just pooped his pants from nerves!" We both crack up, and then sober when the waiter walks by. We order (me getting lots of help from Nico; the menu's in Italian) and then wait.

"What's the matter?" I ask Nico. "Something's up. You've been gloomy- even more gloomy than normal recently. Something's bothering you."

He sighs. "It's just... I'm worried. About being accepted, that is. I mean, I'm a child of Hades, and some people are don't accept me as it is, especially as it's been such a long time since the war. People are starting to give me funny looks again. Put being gay on top of it..."

"Nico, for Zeus' sake. If people don't accept you, don't worry about it. It's their problem. Heck, gay marriage is legal now! We should celebrate our differences!"

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I see an old couple walk in, scan the room, and feel their eyes rest judgingly on us. I turn to meet their gaze, and hold it for a while. Dammit, if they were monsters they would've attacked by now. Shit. Well, I'll just have to make sure Nico doesn't notice them.

'Please sit away from us, please sit away from us,' I silently beg, but noooo, of course they have to sit at the table behind Nico.

"Oh, look. Here comes our food anyway," I say, pointing to the waiter carefully carrying the two dishes. Nico smiles at the thought of his favourite Italian dish, ravioli. He starts to eat, getting tomato sauce all over his face.

"Erm, Nico, you got a little something, here," I gesture to my entire face.

He blushes, and turns to ask the waiter for another napkin. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. I-hate-everyone choose that moment to scowl at us. I hold my breath and cross my fingers, but he turns around and his smile is gone. He noticed. Damn, what am I going to do now?

"I'm just going to go to the bathroom," Nico says, getting up. He walks slowly towards the toilets, while I think about what to do. I wait patiently for him to come back, but after 10 minutes, he still hasn't returned.

'He better not be shadow travelling,' I think. I get up to go to the bathroom, and just about knock Nico over in the dingy hallway leading to the toilets.

"Fading into the shadow's again, are we?" I ask suspiciously, grabbing his wrist.

He blushes angrily and tries to get out of my grasp, but I hold tight.

"Nico, you can't just run away from you problem's like this. Running isn't going to help anyone. Besides, we haven't even had dessert yet. Tiramisu is your favourite!"

"Will, how can you expect me to go back in there. This is exactly what I'm talking about," he protests. "Besides-" I cut him off.

"Nico, who cares? I love and accept you, your friends at camp accept you, isn't that all that matters?"

He sighs. "I guess you're right. But you don't quite understand, I mean, growing up in the 30's, it's different. I just feel so self conscious."

"I understand. But what you need to understand is that other people's opinions don't matter. Lets go out and show Mr. and Mrs. Oldy-McMouldy that it's GREAT to be different, and that we don't care."

He grins a little at my cheesy pep talk and stands a little taller.

"You know what, Will? You're right. I care too much about what other people think. In fact, I've got a plan..."

We stand for about 5 minutes in the dingy hallway talking and laughing, working out the finer points of the plan, then we step back into the restaurant, quite visibly holding hands. I feel Mr. and Mrs. Evil's eyes on us, but ignore it as we walk to the table. The waitress comes over and we order dessert, Nico getting Tiramisu, and me getting some lemon gelato. As we wait, we flirt very loudly and very over the top, earning few more glares from Mr. and Mrs. Judgmental. Our plan is working perfectly. As our dessert comes, I take one bite, and Nico does the same, then we give each other a spoonful.

"We just indirectly kissed!" I exclaim loudly, loud enough for them to hear.

"Oh yeah!" Nico agrees, trying to hold back his laughter.

Mrs. Oldie looks disgusted, and stands up, calling the waitress over. They have a long discussion (read: she has a long talk), with her glancing over at us every few seconds. We keep flirting, very loudly and very over the top until I notice the waitress shaking her head.

"I'm afraid we can't do that ma'am," she says.

"Then let me speak to your manager!" Mrs. Ancient says.

The waitress nods timidly and walks behind the counter, then emerges a few minutes later with an official looking woman.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Bruto," she starts. "We can't kick this couple out just because they are gay. You need a valid reason, so I'm sorry, but if you are not happy with it, order the check and leave."

"We'll have the check please then," she says stiffly.

"I'll bring it out right away," says the scared looking waitress.

I grin at Nico, and see him grinning right back at me.

"We did it!" I cheer. "See, I told you, more and more people will learn to accept, so just be grateful that some people already do."

"Thanks Will," he says, taking another bite of his dessert.

"No, thank YOU. None of this would've been possible without the help of my wonderful boyfriend Nico di Angelo," I joke, pretending to make a speech.

After we finish dessert, I ask for the check. While our waitress goes and gets it for us, Nico turns to me.

"Well, if I'm still the girl in this relationship, does that mean you're paying?" he asks cheekily.

"Of course," I say as the waitress puts the check down on the table. I notice that there is no charge for dessert on there. "Wait!" I call after her. She turns back around and I wave the check in her face. "You didn't charge us for dessert."

"Oh, no, dessert's on us. You deserve it after the way that other couple were treating you," she tells me.

I thank her, and then shoot a triumphant glance at Nico. "I only have to pay for half the meal anyway! He rolls his eyes as I pay, then we walk out of the restaurant hand in hand, and make our way slowly back to camp, with only one hellhound encounter. It's a new record!

I've been meaning to have this up for so long but it took me ages to write. I guess I'm just too good at procrastinating!

If you liked it please check out my other multi-chapter story All Grown Up.

Thanks for reading! Please review with any advice/constructive criticism, it would mean a lot to me.