A bit of Solangelo fluff in a college setting AU!

Enjoy!

There was a literal dark cloud over Nico as he followed his sister, Hazel, into the house, the loud music, yelling, and smell of alcohol hitting him nearly all at once. He groaned loudly in the hopes that Hazel would hear and it would somehow make her change her mind about the party.

That wasn't about to happen…

Hazel had clearly heard him but only sent him a look visibly stating that he wasn't going anywhere for at least the hour he had promised her.

Nico hated that he couldn't say no to his sister…

"Hazel! Nico! You made it!"

Frank come over and engulfed his girlfriend in a large hug before almost doing the same with Nico. Almost. The look Nico sent along with the step back he took had Frank lower his arms before extending a hand instead.

"Glad you decided to come," said Frank as they shook hands.

"Blame Hazel," muttered Nico, stuffing his hands into his pockets and glancing around.

"You needed to get out of that dorm, it's not healthy," she remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Come on, you promised an hour and it starts now. Let's get something to drink."

Nico half-heartedly nodded as he followed the couple through the house, dodging the already drunk party-goers. He had a feeling this would be a very long hour…

When they reached the kitchen, Hazel handed Nico a drink as she continued to chat with Frank. Even if the two of them tried to include him in their conversation, he couldn't help but feel like the third wheel… It wasn't his sister's fault considering that he did somewhat like Frank but, being in such a loud and busy environment, Nico already didn't feel all too comfortable nor in the mood for much talking.

It was a horrible combination.

"Hey guys!"

Jason and Piper joined their group, the two of them holding hands and Nico felt his mood darken a little more. He may have just gone from third wheeling to fifth wheeling and he wondered once more how Hazel could so easily get him to agree to these outings.

"Let's head to the living room?" suggested Piper, motioning towards it with a tilt of her head. "We could try and commandeer the foosball table!"

The others agreed and Nico found himself following the group, already preparing himself with excuses to sit the game out.

Not even ten minutes later, the two couples had successfully taken control of the foosball table and were in the middle of an intense match. Nico stood to the side for most of the game until he gave the excuse that he'd wander around, see if he knew anyone. Hazel sent him a smile as she hoped he would actually try to mingle.

As long as he didn't run off to the dorms, Hazel would be happy.

Nico scanned the room and, the moment his gaze fell on Percy, he froze. Nico had not talked to him since the day he accidentally let slip that he had a crush on Percy. He had been mortified at that moment and for several days later. Even if Percy, albeit confused and surprised at first, had reassured him that the situation was fine, that he was flattered even if he had a girlfriend, Nico still couldn't face him.

Hence why, all too suddenly, Nico whirled around and smacked right into someone as he tried to run away.

The drink in Nico's hand splattered all over him as a surprised yelp came from the person he had run into.

"Sorry," breathed out Nico, trying to not turn around and see if Percy noticed. "Sorry, I –"

"Hey, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking!" cut in the person and Nico finally looked up. "You alright?"

Nico craned his neck to look up at the tall young man. The lighting in the room was horrible and the shorter of the two had a hard time distinguishing the other's features.

"Oh no, did your drink spill on your jacket?" continued the young man, trying to tell if the piece of clothing was ruined or not. "Crap, I feel horrible, I'm sorry again. We can try to wash it out!"

Nico's eyes widened at that suggestion as he continued to stare at the young man in confusion, not used to someone talking so much.

"It's fine," finally uttered Nico but the other wasn't having it.

"No, I insist, I'm so sorry!"

Without waiting for Nico to refuse once more, the young man grasped Nico's hand and pulled him towards the first unoccupied bathroom he could find.

All that time, Nico tried to ignore how much larger and softer the young man's hand was than his own.

Once in the bathroom and the door was closed to muffle the loud music outside, the young man released Nico's hand and held his out, waiting for the jacket.

"It won't take long, I promise," he said.

Nico absentmindedly handed the jacket over as he stared at the young man, eyes widening slightly. Not only was he tall, almost a foot taller than Nico, his skin was tanned, his eyes bright blue, his hair almost golden blond, and…

Nico almost caught himself blushing, realizing he had been staring a little too much the other's toned muscles.

It was like someone designed Nico's complete opposite and shoved him into existence just to tease the shorter one.

Not that he was complaining at the moment.

"I'm Will Solace, by the way," introduced the young man as he tried to wash away the alcohol off the jacket but still managing to send Nico a bright smile.

"Nico Di Angelo."

"Nice to meet you, Nico," said Will, smiling once more. "And I'm sorry once again…"

"I said it's fine," repeated the brunet, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

They were quiet for a couple of minute while Will worked on the jacket and Nico leaned up against the wall, trying not to be obvious in his staring. Not that he was, no, of course he wasn't. He just needed to make sure Will didn't ruin his jacket. That was the only reason.

"So, what are you studying?" wondered Will suddenly, catching Nico off guard.

"What?"

The blond looked up, meeting Nico's gaze in the mirror and trying to hide a smile. "Studying? What's your major?"

Nico cleared his throat, looking away. "History."

"Anything in particular?"

"Ancient history."

Will nodded, looking back down at the jacket. "That explains it," he replied before adding, "I'm pre-med, by the way."

Nico frowned slightly in confusion. "That explains what exactly?"

The blond didn't raise his gaze, focusing a little too intensely at the task he was doing. "Well, I'd seen you at the library from time to time, surrounded by old books. Never got the courage to go up and talk to you in your makeshift fortress."

"Why – why would you want to talk to me?" wondered Nico slowly, ignoring the jab at his book hoarding tendency. It didn't make sense that anyone he hadn't met before would come talk to him.

"Why not? You're cute."

"I'm what?" sputtered out Nico in embarrassment.

"Cute," repeated Will, nonchalant. "There's no denying it."

"I… What…?"

Will glanced at Nico once more. "Your face is turning red. I'm not a doctor yet but I can take a look at it for you."

Nico groaned, covering his face with his hands. "You are becoming impossible, Solace," he grumbled which only made Will chuckle.

"I try."

"Try less," mumbled Nico, finally looking back up at Will who was now busying himself with drying the jacket, still smiling, amused.

Nico sighed, leaning his head back against the wall and staring at the ceiling. He knew he could just take his jacket and leave but… He didn't want to.

"So, mind telling me who you were running away from?" asked Will suddenly.

"I wasn't running away!" snapped Nico, much too quickly to be convincing, even to his own ears.

Will sent him a look, raising an eyebrow but the other just ignored it. Will shook his head, trying to hide his smile and decided to switch the conversation. "Alright, then what brought you to this party?"

Nico was thankful for the change and decided that he would at least humour Will seeing as he hadn't pushed the other question. "Sister dragged me here," he replied before adding, "you?" almost hesitantly.

That got Will smiling. "Needed to clear my head from studying. And then I saw you wandering around and I figured it was now or never to try and talk to you."

Nico stared at Will, unable to believe not only his ears but the story the blond just told. "I still don't understand how someone like you would want to talk to someone like me," he mumbled.

"Someone like me?" repeated Will.

Nico's face flushed slightly as he averted his gaze. "I meant anyone. Why anyone would want to talk to me," he corrected hurriedly, trying to cover up his mistake.

He was not about to tell Will that he found him good-looking and most likely out of his league.

The blond, though, not only didn't believe Nico but found the whole exchange endearing. He even hoped to be able to continue it outside the bathroom: he was done with the jacket anyway.

"Want to head out and grab another drink?" suggested Will with a smile as he turned around, leaning against the counter.

Nico took a deep breath, thinking over his answer. He had hoped he could just leave all together but… He couldn't deny that spending time with Will didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Well, I do owe you a drink after spilling yours all over your jacket," added Will.

"It was accident."

"Still." Will eyed Nico for a moment before realizing something. "How about one drink and then I can walk you back to your dorm?"

Nico paused at that suggestion, his mind racing through all too many possibilities at that suggestion.

"It's kinda obvious you don't want to be here," began Will, remembering when and how he had first found Nico, how he looked uncomfortable in the midst of the party and how he was hesitant about even talking to Will at first. It all added up. That and Nico had said his sister had dragged him to the party. "Humour me with one drink and then you can get the peace you want."

Nico nearly smiled at the suggestion. Not only would he be able to keep talking to Will, something he was growing more at ease with, but he'd have a damn good excuse to leave the party early, hour promise or not!

"Hurry up in there!"

Both young men jumped at the banging at the door as if just realizing that they were still alone in a bathroom.

And Nico realized even more that that time was the most comfortable he had felt all night. Whoever was on the other side of that door was going to be on the receiving end of an infamous Di Angelo scowl.

If only it were that easy to do so to his own sister…

Hazel and Piper were standing on the other side of the door when Will opened it. Both of young women had wide eyes, staring from the blond to the brunet and back before giddy smiles broke across their faces.

"I'm sorry for the wait, ladies," said Will, giving them a bright smile.

"Oh, no worries," replied Hazel, sending Nico a wink that was much too obvious for her brother's taste. "We didn't mean to interrupt."

"Yes," put in Piper before either young men could say anything, "if you need more time in there, by all means, we can wait."

Nico couldn't even look at them as his face flushed deeply and marched past the girls, grumbling "I hate both of you," under his breath.

Will's gaze flickered between Nico and the girls before reaching back in the bathroom for Nico's jacket. He sent Hazel and Piper an apologetic smile before nearly running after the brunet.

It was quite easy for Will to catch up and was about to say something when Nico cut in.

"Sorry for my sister," he muttered, not able to meet the blond's gaze.

"Oh, well that makes sense. Don't worry about it," laughed out Will as he held out the jacket to Nico. "Almost forgot about it."

"Thanks."

"So…? Can I still get you that drink?"

Nico sighed but still nodded hesitantly, turning his gaze away and sadly missing the triumphant look on Will's face.

Before the two of them could reach the kitchen to get that drink, the brunet suddenly stopped upon seeing Percy with Annabeth once more. He had hoped that they would have moved along somewhere else but they were still in the living room.

Between Nico and the kitchen.

Will noticed the brunet tense and followed his gaze. "Do you want to avoid those two?" he wondered, leaning closer to Nico.

The brunet's breath hitched at the proximity but he eventually nodded. He still wasn't ready to face his old crush…

It was at that moment that Percy decided to glance around the room and Nico began to panic. He needed his limbs to move but they were frozen in place.

Thankfully, Will placed himself in front of Nico, successfully blocking him from Percy's view. However, the blond was not finished. He moved closer to Nico who was finally able to take a step back. And another. And a third, avoiding getting too close to Will who was being overly persistent.

Nico opened his mouth to ask what Will thought he was doing when his back hit the wall and the blond finally stopped, less than a foot away, his presence almost looming over Nico.

And said brunet was not the happiest being reminded like that of his height or there lack of…

"Better?" wondered Will, smiling softly.

Nico frowned but he was relieved that he was hidden from Percy's sight. Not that he was going to say that out loud to the other.

"Old fling?" tried Will, tilting his head to the side.

Nico's frown deepened and he looked away, still not willing to answer. He had just met the blond and he did not want to share such personal information – personal feelings – like that with him.

"Want me to help you get your mind off him?"

That snapped Nico's attention right back to Will as he stared, wide-eyed, up at the blond's face, wondering if he had heard him correctly. The music was loud. He probably said something else entirely.

Yeah, that was a decent explanation that Nico was going for.

However, the smile and the look in Will's eyes told Nico that he had heard properly the first time and the brunet's face flushed. He was so thankful that it was dark…

The two stared at each other for a moment before Will backed away slightly as if realizing what he had just proposed; just realizing how forward he had been.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I got a little ahead of myself. I shouldn't have –"

Nico reacted instinctively as he reached out and grabbed the front of Will's shirt, stopping him from backing away anymore. Maybe it was what Nico needed, to get his mind off Percy. It did help that Will was not only good looking – Nico will deny ever thinking of him as hot – but he had even gotten Nico to participate in a conversation, something only a handful of people could boast of achieving. Nico had been too scared to do or say anything with Percy until it was too late and he was not making the same mistake twice. "You're not getting out of this that easily," he started, happy to note that he managed to keep his voice even. "Finish what you started, Solace."

Will's smile was one of the brightest Nico had ever seen and it must have been contagious because the brunet caught himself cracking a smile as well.

"If you're sure," said Will, slowly bridging the gap.

Nico rolled his eyes as he tugged on the shirt, getting Will to close the gap and they kissed.

Let me know what you thought! :D