"How long ago did you leave the Lotus, again?"
He wasn't exactly sure how this conversation got started, but Nico had been having lots of pointless conversations since he was pretty much forced to hang out in the infirmary for the past few days. Will was so insistent on him needing to rest. Not that he minded, of course. He liked that Will actually cared about his well-being, and it gave them lots of time to just talk casually and get to know each other better.
"Hmm..." Nico had to think about it. "This winter it'll be about four years."
Will spoke slowly. "And in four years you haven't found the time to read Harry Potter?"
Well, he started to mind the conversation about five minutes ago when Will accused him of living an 'incomplete and meaningless life' because he hadn't read the Harry Potter series. He was joking of course, but still, it was absurd. They were just books, after all. But for whatever reason, Will was obsessed. Not just with books, though. Movies, comics, you name it, Will had an odd fascination with it. And he couldn't believe Nico knew nothing about it at all.
"My time has been occupied by more important things. Transporting statues. Bargaining with titans. Saving the world and all that. I've been busy," he said, sipping nectar from a straw.
"Dude," Will's facial expression was so serious he looked like someone just cursed his whole family, "no one is ever too busy to read Harry Potter. Ever."
"I don't know, it just never really appealed to me," Nico shrugged.
"Wizards, potions, dark magic, and dragons never appealed to you? Come on, Nico. Dragons." He seemed to forget they actually had dragons in camp.
"...Do you have any idea how dorky you sound right now?" he asked, tossing the blanket off of his legs and attempting to stand up. Will immediately grabbed Nico by both shoulders and forced him to sit down again.
"You call it dorky, I call it highly educated in pop culture," Will replied. "I said three days, it's only been 65 hours. Sit."
"I'm sure I could find much better ways to occupy my time for the next seven hours," Nico grumbled.
Nico was eternally grateful for his sister visiting some weekends because it meant two things: One, that he got to spend more time enjoying her company without impending danger or the threat of an attack every ten seconds; and two, because when someone knocked on the door of Hades cabin, he didn't have to get up to answer it.
"I think he's back near the bunk beds. Here, I'll show you the way there."
Nico had heard Hazel making casual conversation with whoever was at the door for the past five minutes, but couldn't be bothered to see who it was. That is, until said person dropped an extremely heavy box at the foot of Nico's bed. (Which, thankfully, no longer looked like a sarcophagus. He wasn't kidding when he said he was planning on doing some remodeling.)
"Will, what is this?"
"The entire Harry Potter series," Will beamed. "And also Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. You're welcome."
Nico sighed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm really not interested."
"Aw, come on!" he pleaded. "You're still ordered to three hours of bed rest per day, and reading is an awesome way to pass the time. Just read Sorcerer's Stone. If you hate it I promise I won't push it."
Hazel interjected. "I have heard they're pretty good. I've seen a couple of the movies and they're not half bad."
"See, even your sister likes them. Everyone likes them!" Nico had to make a conscious effort to look up to stare into his bright blue eyes, and immediately regretted it. It was hard to resist the puppy-dog look the tall blonde was giving him. "Please? For me?"
"Fine, for you. But just the first book."
Nico didn't fail to notice the smirk tugging at the corner of Hazel's lips. She'd made a habit of coming and going between camps as she pleased, and she and just about everyone else at Camp Half-Blood had their suspicions about what was going on between him and the Apollo boy, despite Will and Nico both insisting that they were just friends. Friends didn't even cut it sometimes. They bickered and argued over everything, and some people might think they really disliked each other if they didn't spend so much time together. The blush creeping up on Nico's cheeks said otherwise, but if you asked him, he'd deny it faster than you could blink.
"So I have a question," Nico said to Will, sliding into his normal spot at the Apollo table.
The rules about where to sit during diner were basically thrown out when Hazel and Nico started table hopping soon after things got back to normal at camp. Not that the two didn't enjoy each others' company, but with just the two of them at the Hades table alone, things got a bit lonely. Hazel would usually join Piper or Annabeth, and on nights when Jason was back at Camp Jupiter, Nico naturally gravitated in the direction of Cabin 7's table. The younger Apollo kids looked up to him and loved hearing his stories, and it made him feel welcome. He automatically took his place among the blonde-haired archers every night now, and no one questioned it.
"Go for it," Will said, placing his dinner roll onto Nico's plate. Sharing food was another little habit they'd picked up that no one really questioned anymore.
"How exactly did Harry survive Voldemort's killing curse?" he asked. "I mean, he was only a baby, and this guy had killed tons of people, how did this little kid survive it?"
Will froze, his fork halfway to his mouth, and grinned. "You're reading it."
"I'm only on the fourth chapter and-"
"You're reading it!" he dropped his fork and turned towards Nico. "You're actually reading Harry Potter! Thank the gods! This is a glorious day, I think I might cry."
"Please don't," Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm just giving it a chance like you asked. And I just passed the part where the giant guy is talking to Harry about how his parents died and I'm confused."
"The giant guy's name is Hagrid, and all will be revealed in due time young grasshopper."
"That's not fair, you already know how it ends, why can't you tell me?"
"Because, it'll ruin the surprise," he said, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "No spoilers. You have to suffer like the rest of us who read the books as they came out. I don't make the rules, sorry."
Nico groaned, standing up, taking his plate of uneaten and heading away from the table. "I'm going to eat in my cabin."
"You're going back to keep reading, aren't you?" Will called after him.
"No!" he called back. Then after a moment, "Maybe. Don't judge me, Solace."
Will simply shook his head, still grinning.
(Sent 12:31 AM) Snape is an asshole.
Will had to be careful not to wake his brothers and sisters, ducking his head below the blankets of his bunk bed before unlocking his phone to reply to Nico's message. Usually demigods had to worry about using cellphones, but the main threats were all taken care of, so no one was too worried about that anymore.
(Sent 12:33 AM) He has his reasons. You'll see.
(Sent 12:35 AM) There is no reason a grown man should try to justify his merciless bullying of eleven-year-olds.
Harry didn't do anything to him.
Oh my gods, WTF, he's messing with Neville too. That's not cool. Seriously what's this guy's problem?
(Sent 12:41 AM) You'll see.
(Sent 12:42 AM) Will.
Come on, Will.
Will Solace, this is awful, why are you doing this to me?
I'm going to be up all night reading this book this is all your fault.
You're not going to respond are you?
Fine.
I see how it is.
Goodnight, Will.
I hate you sometimes.
(Sent 1:12 AM) You're not that bad yourself, di Angelo. Sleep well.
"Good morning sunshine," Will muttered as Nico slid into his spot next to him at breakfast, slamming his head on the table. He hadn't seen such dark bags under his eyes since before the battle.
"Slytherin got screwed over for the house cup. Muffin. Now." he clipped off each word.
Will broke his blueberry muffin in half, placing the bigger piece in front of Nico. "So you've finished Sorcerer's Stone, I see."
"Chamber of Secrets is the next one, right?" asked Nico. When Will didn't respond, Nico pulled his head out of his arms and glanced up to see Will staring him down, resting his head on his hands and smiling. Nico could feel a blush creeping up on his cheeks. "What are you staring at?"
"You like Harry Potter."
"I just want to know what happens next."
"You like the books, this is amazing. My plan is working perfectly. So who's your favorite character? And you think Slytherin got screwed over for the cup; do you like Slytherin house more than Gryffindor? I see you as a Slytherin so I see why you'd feel that. I'm more of a Hufflepuff I think. What do you think?" he blabbed out in one breath. He was practically vibrating in his seat from excitement.
Nico huffed and buried his head in his arms again. "You're impossible."
When Leo Valdez made his grand re-appearance at Camp Half-Blood, flying through the wind like a knight on shining celestial bronze dragon, the celebration couldn't have been more monumental.
Nico had to admit that, at first, he didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. And maybe that was because he was busy reading Chamber of Secrets under the conference table at the Big House during one of the counselor meetings.
But in true Valdez fashion, Leo made an extravagant entrance, swooping low over the strawberry fields and landing in the center of the arena.
He hopped off Festus' back and looked around at the massive crowd who'd run to see what all the commotion was about.
"So…" Leo said. "I'm back. What did I miss?"
From there, it was chaos. But the good kind.
A deafening cheer rang out from the audience. Piper had immediately rushed forward and was planting kisses all over Leo's face. "It's you! You're actually here! You're alive! But how? Oh, I don't even care how, you're here! Oh my gods, I missed you so much! It's actually you, right? Of course it's actually you! You're back!"
Jason hugged him, lifting him off his feet and squeezing so roughly that Nico thought there was no way he could breathe. Hazel was sobbing into his shoulder so hard that Frank had to pull her away, assuring her that she'd get all the time in the world to cry happy tears about Leo's return later, before he enveloped Leo into a giant bear hug.
Percy just stood off to the side, gaping. "But… how…. what?"
"Are you gonna hug me or not, Jackson?" Leo taunted.
Even Nico approached Leo, arms open wide. "I had a feeling you'd make it back somehow." Nico told him. "You're absolutely crazy, Valdez, you know that?"
"Yeah, I know. Oh, hold on just a second," Leo cleared his throat to quiet down the crowd. "There's one more thing. I have someone I want you all to meet."
The girl peeked out from behind the giant golden dragon's head and smiled, giving a little wave to everyone. Calypso.
"But… how… what?" Percy repeated, while Annabeth rolled her eyes and rushed over to help the other girl onto the ground.
She offered her hand. "It's nice to meet you," she smiled. "Percy has told me a lot about you."
"You as well," she gladly accepted Annabeth's hand and hopped down off Festus' back. "It's good to see you again, Percy."
He hesitated before hugging her. "How have you been?"
"Pretty good," she said casually. "We've been flying around a bit. Seeing the sights. Trying new things. Disney World is pretty awesome. Thanks for telling the gods to free me from that island by the way."
"Y-you're welcome. So, uh, no hard feelings?"
"Nah," she walked away from him and joined hands with Leo. "We're cool."
Leo, meanwhile, was being swamped with questions.
"Ladies, ladies, please," he held his free hand up in a 'calm down' gesture. "I'll tell my tale of heroism and bravery and sacrifice and-"
"Stupidity!" Piper called out playfully.
"Yeah, beauty queen, that too," he smirked. "I'll tell everything later. But first, my girlfriend and I here are starving. I say this calls for a feast."
And feast they did. The dining pavilion tables were so stacked to the brim with food Nico thought they might collapse. He didn't give it much thought, though, because he was too busy reading. Again. He hadn't even realized how hungry he was until he caught the vague scent of chocolate coming from his right side. He glanced up to see that the source of the delicious dessert scent was Will Solace. And he was presenting Nico with a ribbon-wrapped package.
"What's this?" asked Nico.
"A chocolate frog," Will said, handing Nico the large blue and gold pentagon-shaped box.
Nico glanced up and down between the blue of Will's eyes and the navy packaging. "No, really, what is this?"
"Really, it's a chocolate frog. It's got a famous wizard card inside and everything. I also got you this," he said, handing Nico a green and silver striped tie. "You said you were a Slytherin right?"
"I said no such thing. What's with the gifts?"
Will pondered this for a moment. "Consider it... your Christening into the Wizarding World. And a present for Leo's return party-"
"Why are you giving me presents for Leo's-?"
"And we can dress up on Halloween later this month," Will continued, completely ignoring the younger boy.
"Please tell me you're not serious."
"Oh, but I am," he said, taking the tie from Nico's hand and wrapping it around his neck. "How far are you in Chamber of Secrets?"
"Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party," Nico replied. "Is there some big mystery behind the Lockhart guy or am I reading into it all wrong?"
Will finished tying the tie into a Half-Windsor knot, then stepped back and folded his arms, looking Nico up and down, which made him feel very self conscious. "Are you going to answer my question or-?"
"You look good as a Slytherin. It suits you." Nico could feel his face growing hot. "As for Lockhart, you'll know eventually." He turned to walk away. "See you at dinner, our normal spot."
Don't read into it all wrong, Nico thought.
(Sent 3:12 AM) Tom Marvolo Riddle? What kind of name is that?
(Sent 3:13 AM) Good morning to you too, sunshine.
It was only then Nico glanced up and realized how late it was. Hazel had been listening to him talk but probably dozed off hours ago without him noticing. He may have felt bad for waking Will up at such an odd hour, but it was too late to take it back now.
(Sent 3:15 AM) Sorry. But really? Tom? For the darkest most evil wizard in the world that's a pretty basic name.
And another thing, I feel like Trelawney is totally misunderstood. I mean Harry did see those eyes staring at him at the beginning of the book. Maybe it actually was the grim. Am I right? Wrong?
(Sent 3:18 AM) Gods, Nico, how far have you read today?
(Sent 3:20 AM) I'm halfway through Prisoner of Azkaban.
May I repeat: This is all your fault.
(Sent 3:24 AM) Good night, Nico.
(Sent 3:25 AM) Save half a muffin for me and be ready to talk at breakfast, I'm not done with this conversation.
Percy had insisted on throwing a Halloween party this year. He was bummed about missing the Fourth of July fireworks and used the next available holiday as an excuse to make up for it. Almost everyone at camp attended the huge bash held around the campfire late on Halloween night.
The entire dining pavilion was decked out in scarecrows, skeletons, and twinkling orange lights, and majority of the campers has shown up in costume.
However, the one person you'd expect to be completely in the holiday spirit, the Ghost King himself, was nowhere to be found.
"Has anyone seen Nico?" asked Piper, who was huddled up under a blanket with Jason, who'd decided to visit for the holiday. She wore cat ears and had done her makeup in a pattern that resembled tiger stripes. Leo, who sat next to them, had only just seemed to notice Nico's absence too. He and Calypso had opted for matching Alice In Wonderland and Mad Hatter costumes.
"Huh," Leo scratched his head, almost knocking off his giant top hat. "I could have sworn he said he'd come."
Will Solace, who sat next to Rachel Dare close to the fire proudly sporting his Hufflepuff tie, hadn't noticed either. He'd been so caught up in the moment, between comforting his younger siblings who got scared of the ghost stories the older kids told and controlling the music for the party, it had completely slipped his mind to check on Nico.
But Will had a good feeling he knew exactly where Nico was.
"I'll go find him," Will said, standing up. He ignored the whistles and smirks of some of the Aphrodite kids as he made his way towards the cabins. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Piper elbow one of her brothers, successfully knocking him into a pile of fake spider webs.
It wasn't like that at all. He was just checking up on his friend.
His friend who happened to look extremely handsome in Slytherin robes, but a friend nonetheless.
Will found him exactly where he thought he'd be. He peeked his head into the doorway of Hades cabin and saw Nico curled into a ball on the floor near the shrine to Hades in the corner of the room, Prisoner of Azkaban clutched to his chest, fast asleep.
At least he put in the effort to get into costume, Will thought. As carefully as he could, he took the book from Nico's hands and placed it facedown on the table to save his spot. Then he gently lifted him up - the 14-year-old was still extremely lightweight - and carried him to his bed.
"You really care about him, don't you?"
Will whirled around, fists raised and battle-ready, but relaxed when he realized it was just Hazel.
"Sorry for scaring you. I need to work on being a little louder when I enter a room," she whispered, smiling at him. "He's been really tired lately. Up all night reading those books for you."
"He's not doing it for me, really. He actually does like them a lot."
Hazel sat down on Nico's bed, careful not to jostle around too much and wake her brother. "He also happens to like you a lot. Don't tell him I told you that. But if I'm not mistaken, you care about him too."
"It's not like that, it's..." he hesitated, glancing up into Hazel's golden eyes, which were currently giving him a very accusatory look. "It's that obvious, huh?"
She laughed. "I think half of the campers have bets on when you two are going to admit it. Even kids from Camp Jupiter can sense the romantic tension from across the country."
"You're joking."
Hazel laughed. "I'm really not. Reyna asked me if you'd made any progress last time I talked to her."
"How has Reyna been, by the way?"
"Good. Great actually. Everything's been really peaceful. She misses her friends here."
Will was glad he didn't know how that felt. He wasn't really close with any of the demigods from Camp Jupiter. He wasn't sure if he could stand the long-distance friendships. Percy and Annabeth still had almost a year before they moved to New Rome, so he still had some time to enjoy their company. He was really, really glad Nico had decided to stay.
"Next time the hunters are here I'll tell Thalia hello for her," he said.
Hazel smiled again, looking down at her brother and pushing the hair out his face. "I just want Nico to be happy. And a lot of his happiness lately seems to be whenever he's with you. You're good for each other."
Will glanced down at Nico's sleeping figure, slowly breathing in and out. He looked peaceful. Happy. Much better than he did a year ago, or even a few months ago.
"You really think so?" he asked.
Hazel nodded. "I know Nico better than anyone. I know so."
Two sleepless, caffeine-filled weeks later, Nico was nearly done with Goblet of Fire. He only had one chapter left, but he couldn't stand to not talk about it.
"Malfoy's dad is a death eater! Why is everyone in Slytherin evil, that's such lazy writing, do none of them have any redeemable qualities or are they all just douchebags right down to the core? And why did they have to kill off Cedric right when I was starting to like the guy. That's not fair at all!" Nico was fuming.
"Hey, di Angelo," one of the younger Apollo girls sitting further down the table spoke up. "I don't think they can hear you in Africa, mind yelling a little louder?"
"And why is it that Dumbledore and McGonagall seem to be the only sane adults at Hogwarts? What's up with that?"
Will just chuckled and took Nico's hand, leading him away from the tables and ignoring the smirks of his siblings.
For mid-November, it was still pleasantly warm outside, and Will couldn't have been more grateful for the controlled weather inside camp. Everywhere else in New York had been blanketed in snow for a week with more expected to fall in the next few days.
Maybe the warmth also had something to do with the fact that Nico hadn't let go, and that they were still walking hand in hand.
"So..." Will ventured. "About this." He gestured down at their intertwined fingers.
"Yeah, about that." Nico pretended to act surprised. "I guess this is okay to do now? Considering you care about me a lot."
Will stopped so abruptly that he nearly pulled Nico's arm out of place. "You heard that conversation?"
"Every word. You need to be a little more careful when you're carrying me around my cabin."
Yep, it was definitely getting warmer. "And you're... you know, okay with this?"
"As long as you are," Nico squeezed his hand, then finally let go, turning and walking away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some reading to do."
The winter holidays had finally rolled around. But magic and holiday cheer wasn't really in the air. Things could be better if Nico would stop paying attention to that damn book for more than a few seconds.
"Do you want to go ice skating?"
"In a minute."
"How about shopping for gifts? I heard Annabeth is getting you a new jacket."
"Yeah, that's cool."
"You're about to walk into oncoming traffic."
"Shhh. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match. Read now, talk later."
Will sighed, dejectedly plopping down next to Nico on the cold bench. They were surrounded by the beautiful lights and sounds of New York City at Christmastime and he was too busy burying his nose into a fictional sports game to pay any attention to what was happening right around him.
"Well this is a lousy attempt at a first date," Will grumbled.
That got Nico's attention.
He slowly lowered Order of the Phoenix from his face and closed it. "This is a date?"
"Well, yeah," Will hesitated. "If that's okay with you. I mean, I kind of assumed asking you to hang out in the city alone kind of implied that-"
Nico stood up and offered his hand. "It's definitely okay with me. Where to first?"
Their first stop ended up being ice-skating, which they both immediately regretted.
After his third time falling into Will's arms - which he will admit was deliberate the first time, but he really couldn't keep his balance on the death traps otherwise known as ice skates for more than a few seconds - Nico muttered, "Is this how skating is supposed to work?"
"I think you're supposed to stand up on your own most of the time, actually," Will rolled his eyes before dropping Nico and skating off. "Catch me if you can!"
Shopping proved to be much easier. The two spent majority of the afternoon picking out gifts for all of their friends. Of course, when Will snuck off to buy Nico's Christmas gift, he came back to find Nico with his face buried 437 pages deep into the fifth Harry Potter novel.
He snatched the brick-size novel away and held it above his head before Nico could even react.
"You'll get it back when we get back to camp," Will tried to sound authoritative, but couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the shorter boy jumping to try to reach his book.
"Ugh!" Nico crossed his arms. "That's not fair, you know I'm vertically challenged."
Will just shook his head and laughed again. "You're cute when you're angry."
As promised, Nico's precious copy of Order of the Phoenix was returned to him later that night. The two boys stood under Thalia's tree, just outside of the camp borders, enjoying the light snowfall and the peace and quiet. After the battle the golden fleece had been put back in its rightful place, and the guard dragon seemed to be radiating heat with each breath, so they had no problem keeping warm.
"Can I ask you a question, Nico?"
"Can I have my book back?"
"In a minute. This is serious, can you answer me truthfully?" Will asked.
Nico hesitated, staring into those big blue eyes again before quietly replying "Yes."
"Are you happy?"
Nico blinked twice. "Really? That's the question?"
"Yes, really. Tell me the truth."
"Well..." he had to think about his answer. "Yes. Right now, I'm very happy. I'm happy with where my life is and where it's going. I'm not happy about a lot of things in my past but eventually one day I'll be able to move on from that. I'm happy that I decided to stay at camp and I'm happy that I've been able to make friends. I'm happy I met you. I'm happy in this moment, right now. Am I saying too much?"
"No, you're saying the perfect amount. Congratulations, Nico di Angelo," he dramatically pulled the novel from him bag, "you have passed my pop quiz, and your prize: one slightly used copy of Order of the Phoenix. But first..."
Will opened up to Nico's page, where he'd earlier used a receipt as a bookmark, and looked it over.
"You're in the middle of The Eye of the Snake. That's my favorite chapter in this book," Will explained, trying to drop a hint. He knew exactly which part of the book he was about to read. After all, he'd purposely highlighted this passage months ago, when he first gave Nico the books, hoping to use it as a way to confess his feelings, and it was perfect how well it would work out for him. If Nico wasn't oblivious to his hints, that is. "And it's very festive and Christmas-y. Very appropriate for today don't you think?"
"Yeah, yeah, gliding along to the song of a wintery fairy land and all that jazz, can I have it back now?" Nico snatched the book up before Will could protest and immediately buried his head in it.
Any second now, he should-
"Will, why did you highlight Harry and Cho's first kiss?" Nico glanced up at him.
There we go. "Because I wanted to be blatantly obvious and I didn't know another way to ask you if it was okay."
Nico was silent, looking back and forth between Will and the sentences outlined in bright yellow.
He shook his head and muttered, "You're such a dork," before dropping the book in the snow, standing up on his tiptoes and pulling Will close, kissing him right on the lips.
Looking back on his first kiss, it wasn't perfect.
Of course, Will wasn't expecting it to be. For a minute there he almost thought Nico would have wanted to take things slower or even realize he didn't like him that way at all. Thankfully, it worked out just as he planned. It was short and his hands were trembling and he was pretty sure he stuttered something stupid about curfews immediately afterwards, but if he had the choice he wouldn't change a thing about it. The only thing he was afraid of now was the awkwardness of their next meeting.
The last thing he was expecting Nico to say the next morning was, "I hate you."
"Wait, what?" Will had stopped mid-muffin-break and stared at Nico.
"Sirius Black died. You didn't tell me he was going to die and now he's dead and I'm sad and I hate you."
Well, that was one way to greet someone. "I didn't think you'd usually kiss someone under the mistletoe if you hated them."
Nico's face turned as bright red as the cup he was drinking out of. "It wasn't mistletoe, it was a pine tree. And please quiet down, the others will tease me for the next million years if they find out."
"Maybe not a million years," Will teased. "Just a hundred or so. Besides, Aphrodite cabin has to cash in their bets eventually."
"...You better be glad I like you," Nico said, stuffing his half of the muffin into his mouth and leaving the table. "I'll see you later, I have another novel to start."
"Alright, I call this official meeting into order," Percy announced, tapping his pencil like a judge's gavel. He, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank and Hazel - the seven of the prophecy - sat reunited around the bright blue Ping-Pong table of the Big House.
"I wouldn't really call this an official meeting, Percy," said Annabeth. "There's no imminent danger or crisis going on, so what makes this official?"
"Because, my young pupil-"
"I'm a month older than you."
"Regardless, this is a very important matter. I've gathered you all here today to discuss the love life of one Nico di Angelo."
The other six demigods groaned.
Leo spoke up first. "Percy, dude, we've discussed this a million times. He's into dudes. He used to like you but he doesn't anymore."
"Yes, I know. I get that now."
"Took you two months," Frank muttered, "but you finally got it."
"I was confused, okay?" Percy had tried to defend his obliviousness countless times. "Moving on, that's not what I'm here to talk about. We need to talk about him and Will Solace."
"I don't get why everyone can't leave them alone," Jason said. Annabeth and Frank nodded in agreement.
Leo and Piper, however, had different opinions on the matter. "Some girl in Demeter cabin says she saw them together last night. Apparently out little di Angelo is getting some action." Leo wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Damn it," said Piper. "If it's true, I owe Drew twenty bucks."
Frank looked completely appalled. "Guys, I really don't think he'd appreciate us talking about him like this."
"It's not like we're saying anything negative. Everyone in the camp supports their relationship," Leo said. "I think the other Apollo kids were going to hold their own intervention if Will didn't make a move soon."
Piper smiled. "They do make a really cute couple."
"If they're a couple, that is," Percy corrected. "We don't know for sure."
Meanwhile, Hazel just listened in silence, smiling to herself. If only they'd heard Nico chattering all last night about it, unable to sleep until early that morning because he was too excited to shut up about how happy he was.
"Do Neville and Luna end up together?"
"I thought I said no spoilers, Nico. Aim higher."
The boys were practicing archery in the arena. Nico's technique hadn't improved much since he'd first started training, considering he'd been spending all of his free time immersed in the Wizarding World. He launched the arrow sloppily, missing the target by a mile.
"Come on, just this one spoiler," he begged. "Neville deserves some happiness."
"Fine," Will sighed, guiding Nico's arms to the correct position. "They're not together in the books, but it's implied in the movies. That's all I'm telling you."
"That's not fair at all!" Nico flailed and fired another arrow, almost impaling an Ares kid twenty feet away. "At least tell me Ron breaks up with that Lavender girl. He and Hermione are meant to be together."
"If it's meant to be, it'll happen," said Will. "I need to go do cabin inspection. Please try to concentrate on your technique." He made sure no one was paying attention to them before giving him a quick kiss goodbye. Wouldn't want to give Drew and the other Aphrodite kids the satisfaction of cheating Piper out of another twenty bucks. "See you at dinner."
He should know better than to do that. There was no way Nico could concentrate when his brain went all fuzzy like that every time Will kissed him.
"No, you see, Bellatrix is Sirius' cousin. The whole Black family tree is very complicated. I can find it somewhere and show you."
Hazel felt like she was about to pull her hair out. Nico had just finished the sixth and penultimate book in the Harry Potter series and, as usual, could not shut up about it. These days it was like he couldn't wipe the smile off his face, and Hazel was eternally grateful for that.
"Nico, I love you, and I admire your appreciation for fictional family trees," she explained, "but I really need to go. I promised Frank I'd meet up with him more than fifteen minutes ago."
His smile faltered slightly. "Oh. Right. Sure thing. You'll be back for dinner, right?"
"Of course," she said, ducking out of Hades cabin as fast as she could.
Nico knew she probably couldn't be more disinterested in Sirius Black's colorful family history, but he needed someone to talk to about it. He knew he was in too deep. He felt like if he didn't say anything about it to someone at least once a day he could explode. Will was busy with head counselor duties, so there was no one else he could really talk to.
No better time to start Deathly Hallows, then.
(Sent 2:49 AM) DUMBLEDORE KNEW ALL ALONG?
WHAT THE HELL?
SNAPE WAS IN LOVE WITH HARRY'S MOM
Oh my gods.
Oh. My. Gods.
OH MY GODS WILL.
WILL SOLACE YOU ANSWER THIS PHONE RIGHT NOW I HAVE SOME VERY CHOICE WORDS FOR YOU.
I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU LET ME SIT HERE AND PRAISE DUMBLEDORE WHEN ALL ALONG HE WAS JUST AS BAD AS EVERYONE ELSE
HOW DID THIS OLD BASTARD GET INTO GRYFFINDOR HE WAS A COWARD HE LET HARRY DO ALL THE WORK
AND SNAPE. SEVERUS. FREAKING. SNAPE.
THIS AWFUL PIECE OF PEGASUS DUNG SAT THERE AND BULLIED CHILDREN JUST BECAUSE HE GOT FRIENDZONED LIKE TWENTY YEARS AGO
AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL SORRY FOR HIM?
YOU. ARE. A. GROWN. MAN. SEVERUS.
I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT HE DIED
IN FACT HE NEEDS TO COME BACK TO LIFE AND APOLOGIZE TO HARRY AND HERMIONE AND NEVILLE IMMEDIATELY
UGHHHHHH
I cannot believe this.
(Sent 3:16 AM) ...So I see you read The Prince's Tale. Welcome to the heart wrenching world of fiction. We begin marathoning the movies tomorrow. I shall prepare the snacks and blanket fort. Noon, Apollo cabin. Be prepared.
All was well.
"Wait..." Nico re-read the final sentence exactly twelve times before speaking up. "That's it?"
"That's it," Will smiled.
"It can't be," Nico closed the book and stared at the orange cover. There, right in the center, stood The Boy Who Lived. And Nico held the last of Harry's adventures in his hands. "There's got to be more. What happens with Teddy and Victoire? What house does Albus Severus get sorted into? There's so much more to know, she can't just end it there."
"But she can. And she did. Now get over here, Sorcerer's Stone is starting."
Nico grudgingly obliged, curling into Will's arm as the Warner Brothers logo came up on the screen.
"If you think this is frustrating, just wait until I introduce you to Star Trek and Doctor Who."
"Will Solace don't you dare break my heart with more fictional character deaths. I'm going to need at least a two week mourning period for Fred Weasley."
"Look at it this way," Will whispered, "in the end, despite all the pain and suffering, everything in Harry's life was okay. In the end, he was happy."
"That's all I could ask for," Nico replied.
The sleep deprivation must have finally caught up to Nico, since he didn't even make it to Harry and Ron meeting on the Hogwarts Express before he was fast asleep on Will's shoulder. Will pulled him closer, kissing his forehead.
As long as he's happy, Will thought. That's all I can ask for.