Hey! This is my first story on this account. Also my first time writing Solangelo. If you have any suggestions on how to better write this couple, please let me know! I'm always open to constructive criticism!

This idea kinda popped into my head unbidden during a class. I thought it seemed like a possibility, so here you are. Enjoy!

~A.J.

Ophidiophobia

Solangelo

K+

Word Count: 820

Will Solace didn't like snakes. As in, really, really didn't like snakes. It was more than a dislike, though. It was moreso a fear. He had learned it was called ophidiophobia. Snakes seriously scared him, but it wasn't like anyone actually knew about that. Aside from his siblings in cabin seven, of course, but that was due to the fact that it was a fear shared by all of them. Will had decided to blame Python, and the fact that the stupid snake was one of his father's biggest enemies.

The problem, of course, with having a fear of snakes was the fact that Camp Half-Blood had plenty of the reptiles. The best way that Will could explain the abundancy is to compare it to the Athena cabins' arachnophobia. The snakes seemed to be attracted to Apollo's children. Since this particular issue wasn't known about widely, however, there wasn't any particular solutions to it.

Will's current problem was the fact that he couldn't resist his boyfriend when he wanted something. In this instance, that "something" was a walk around camp, just the two of them. It was nice, really. It provided a good break from their troubles as demigods, at least for a few hours. It was just the two of them, no one else around.

Oh, and the snakes.

Did Will mention that he really didn't like snakes yet?

They almost didn't run into any snakes. Almost. Of course, as demigod luck tends to go, it didn't actually stay that way forever. They were walking through the woods, away from the places where there might be monsters that would cause them trouble. It was nice out, and the shade of the trees provided a nice cool atmosphere around them, away from the sun that constantly shone over camp.

Then the stupid snake had to ruin it all.

They had been walking along, totally peacefully. Then a snake crossed the path they were walking along, and Will totally freaked. He didn't calm down until the snake was totally gone, and even then, he watched the bush that it had disappeared into warily. Nevermind that the snake was just a harmless garter snake. The rational side of Will's mind on that matter seemed to have shut down.

There was a moment of silence in which Will watched the bush and Nico watched Will. Then, Nico slowly devolved into giggles. Will turned to glare at his boyfriend.

"What?!"

"What was that?"

"It was a snake!"

"I didn't know you were scared of a garter snake, Solace."

Will crossed his arms in indignation.

"Snakes are vicious."

"Garter snakes are harmless."

Will couldn't come up with anything clever to counter that point. Yes, he was fully aware that garter snakes were totally harmless to humans.

"I- I couldn't tell," Will tried.

"I could tell and I have only the bare minimum knowledge on snakes." Will both loved and hated the smug smirk that crossed Nico's face then. Will just huffed and kept walking. Nico jogged up to his side again and fell into step with him.

"If it makes you feel better," Nico said, "You're pretty cute when you're annoyed."

Will sighed. He really couldn't stay truly mad at Nico for long. He muttered something about still being annoyed before slowing his pace back to the comfortable one that they had been going at before.

"If you don't mind my asking," Nico said, falling back into that pace as well, "what made you so scared of snakes?"

No teasing. The tone of voice of the son of Hades was full of genuine concern. That was one of the things Will loved about Nico. The fact that he really did have a heart of gold, even though he hid it behind a mask of apathy and power. Will loved that Nico trusted him enough to share that kind side with him.

"My dad," Will answered.

"What about him?"

"Well, you know about Python, right?"

Nico nodded. Will spread his arms as though that was explanation in and of itself. It took Nico a couple of moments, but eventually, he connected the dots. His eyes widened slightly in understanding and he nodded slowly.

"So, you're scared of snakes because your dad and Python are like, mega-enemies?"

"That's the gist of it."

"Do all of your siblings have that?"

"Yeah."

"I'm assuming they would be unappreciative if I mentioned that to anyone else at camp," Nico said. There was a glint of mischief in his eyes now, and the hints of a smirk played on his lips.

"No, probably not," Will said, smiling.

"Got it."

That was something else. The fact that Will could trust Nico with the more private aspects of himself. His fears, and private dreams and ambitions and interests. Nico wouldn't judge him.

He may be scared of snakes, but there was no fear when it came to the son of Hades for Will.

Edit: The formatting broke. Here's one where you can actually read stuff. Sorry for that ridiculousness.

~A.J.