Inspired by a review left on my story Sunflower by the lovely MyLittleBigBangSwitchAtOlympus. Enjoy!
-PoisonBones

William Solace had never been a competitive person, neither had Nico Di' Angelo. But now, parked in front of the small, yellow house in the Manhattan suburbs, it seemed the two were having a competition over who could panic the most.

Will looked over at his boyfriend, who sat in the passenger side of Will's 2004 Grand Prix Pontiac looking considerably paler than normal, "Last chance to turn back, babe. You sure you wanna do this?"

Nico clasped onto Will's hand tightly, where they were holding onto each others in the center, giving it a reassuring squeeze and him a nauseous smile, "Nope, I'm good. We're gonna have to come out sooner or later."

Will took a deep breath and nodded as they both climbed out of the car, their feet crunching along the gravel. The walk up the drive to the door was tedious and tense, each in preparation for what might come. Finally, they stood side by side on the front step, Will's index finger hovering over the doorbell (he'd lost his key). He moved in to push it, but Nico clasped his arm in a frantic death grip.

"What if she doesn't like me?" He asked, his voice laced with panic.

"It's just my mom, Nico," Will said with a roll of his eyes, successfully keeping his own voice from shaking, "I'm sure she'll love you, so just stop freaking out."

"I think I'm gonna throw up."

Will pushed the button and the bells chimed. The door opened a second later. A woman stood there, smiling widely. Her eyes lit up when she saw Will.

"Oh Will! I didn't know you were coming back today!" She threw her arms wide and wrapped them around Will in what seemed to be a bone crunching hug by the way Will's eyes bugged.

"H-hi mom." He wheezed, hugging her back tightly.

She pulled back and turned to Nico, "Who's this?"

Nico held his breath as Will gestured to him, "Mom, this is my friend Nico, from camp."

Nico extended his hand, not quite sure what to expect, but grateful she took it and shook it with enthusiasm, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Ruby."

"Nico Di'Angelo, it's a pleasure to meet you as well."

"Ooh," Ruby straightened her back and looked at Will, with raised eyebrows, "Polite. Nice choice."

Nico released his breath as Will looked on in confusion.

"Well come on in, we aren't getting anywhere just standing out here."

Will jumped the threshold like a pro, while Nico took the step at a more leisurely pace, nervous about the fact that Ruby was behind him holding the door. She folded past them when they were inside, disappearing into the kitchen. Will licked his lips.

"Hey mom, what did you mean by nice choice-"

"So Di'Angelo, right?" Ruby asked, ignoring her sons question as she reappeared with a glass of wine, "Italian?"

Nico nodded, "Uh, yeah. My mother was Italian."

Ruby sipped at her drink, "Mm hmm. And your father?"

"My, uh…" Nico's eyes flicked to Will, "Well…"

"I'm assuming you're a half-blood? From camp?"

"Oh!" Nico relaxed a bit, his face softening into a gentle smile, "Yeah, I am. Um, Hades is my father."

Ruby smiled, clearly impressed, "Hades? Riches and Underworld. Very cool."

Nico laughed lightly, "Well I'm glad you like it. Uh, do you have a restroom?"

"Down the hall on the left."

Will looked at Nico, scanning him over. Perhaps his previous comment had been truth and he felt ill.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna freshen up." Nico went down the hall, turning to the left and locking the bathroom door behind him.

Ruby chuckled lightly, "I have a good feeling about him."

Will recoiled lightly, "Mom, Nico and I-"

"Are together."

Will stopped midsentence, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, "Wha- b-but, ah, how did you…?"

Ruby's chuckle turned into a laugh, "I knew you two were together the second I saw him. If you were just friends you would've called and told me he was coming."

Will felt himself go a little cold, "…You're not mad?"

Ruby frowned, sipping her wine, "Why would I be mad?"

"..Because I'm... 'Not straight'?"

Ruby shook her head, "Boy, I've known you were fruity since you were three years old."

Will choked, "How?"

"Your dad told me."

Will sighed in exasperation. How could he have not guessed? "Of course."

Ruby laughed again, "He's handsome, and he seems sweet. A little irritable, a bit closed, maybe, but if you love him then that's good enough for me."

Ruby turned back to the kitchen, "You wanna drink?"

Will kicked off his shoes and hung his coat, glancing at the bathroom door before following after his mother, "I'm underage."

"You're also eighteen." She said, pouring him a glass of wine from the bottle on the counter, "Nico is welcome to some as well."

Will took a small sip of the red liquid, relishing the warm feeling that rushed over him.

Ruby frowned at her son, "What's wrong? You look bummed."

Will laughed nervously and rocked back on his heels, "I was both so nervous and so excited to tell you. Then you already knew."

"Oh!" Ruby's eyebrows shot up, "Well, when Nico gets back break it to me personally and I'll act all surprised."

Will groaned, "Mom…"

"What? I thought it was a good idea."

As that precise moment, the bathroom door swung open and Nico appeared in the kitchen doorway. Ruby held out a glass of wine, which he accepted in stride with a mumbled "Thank you." and sniffed at before sipping. The three of them stood in terse silence for a minute, Will and Nico unconsciously slipping closer to one another as Ruby peered suggestively between the two, much to Will's embarrassment.

"So..." She said, setting down her glass and seating herself at the kitchen table, "How long has this been going on?"

Nico blushed, "Oh, ah…"

Will leaned back in his chair, "Chill out, Death Boy. She guessed it herself."

Nico gulped, "Um… about a year?"

Ruby set her glass down abruptly, "A year?" She turned to her son, "You two have been seeing each other for a year?"

"Well," Nico said, silencing Will's potential speech with a well aimed glare, "Will wanted to tell you sooner, but I wasn't ready...…Sorry."

"Oh," Ruby lifted her glass again and stood from the table, "Don't apologize, I understand. But do tell me, how did you two choose to start a relationship?"

"The idiot hurt himself and spent a week in the infirmary." Will said, with no tenderness to his voice what-so-ever. Nico rolled his eyes.

"I didn't need to. You were just being a paranoid doctor."

Will huffed, but he was not angry, "I was not. I was defending you from further harm."

A grin crept its way onto Nico's face, "Will, I was in the safest place I could have been at the time. Your protection was not needed."

"Where would we be if I had never made you stay long enough to develop a crush on me?"

Nico shut his mouth. He turned to Ruby, and deadpanned, "And that concludes my speech about how grateful I am that your son is paranoid. Congratulations."

Ruby threw her head back and laughed as she pulled another wine bottle from the fridge, "Well, that's interesting. I'm afraid you boys are going to have to tell me everything."

Three bottles of wine later Nico was unsure about why he had been nervous to meet the infamous Ruby Solace. She was an amazing woman; one of the many Nico had been gifted to meet.

They were settled in the living room. Ruby lay on one couch, Will on the other, and Nico sat on floor beside Ruby, peering across the coffee table at his boyfriend, who had dozed off under the influence.

"I always knew he was gonna be a lightweight." Ruby said, eyeing her son as he slept soundly.

Nico chuckled, "Yeah… I don't think Will is cut out to be a drinker."

Ruby laughed "Haha, nope. Never was."

"Hey," Nico said, shifting to face the woman, "Can I ask you a question?"

Ruby perked up, "Sure. Ask away."

"How did someone as marvelous as you fall into the trap of a horny god?" Nico rested his head on his palm, all ears.

Ruby took a deep breath, thinking for a moment, "I fell for Apollo like a stone falls for gravity. He could be arrogant, and big-headed, but he could also be sweet and kind when he needed to be. He was handsome, too. That didn't hurt. My first thought when I saw him was, 'He is gorgeous'."

"Huh," Nico said, "How long after meeting him until Will was born?"

"We saw each other for about a year until he showed me what he was, two before Will was born. He saw other women while we were together, of course. I wasn't the jealous type, and he was a god, so I didn't let it bother me."

A wistful look crossed Ruby's face, "I loved him. Gods, I loved him so much it hurt. I still love him, think about him every day. And it still hurts."

"I'm glad it happened though. He gave me a baby boy to love and nice memories to look on for a long while. That's good enough for me."

Nico chuckled, "I've met Apollo. I respect your decisions but if I have one thing to say about him it's that he better be dishing out some damn good sex if someone is gonna stick with him for two fucking years."

"Oh-ho-ho," Ruby laughed loudly, drawing out her syllables, "Don't get me started. He blew my head off. Quite a bit too. Sometimes four times a night. It'd be a miracle if I ever get back all the brain cells he made me cum out."

"Speaking of which," Ruby turned a quizzical eye to Nico, "What about you and Will? Do you two have sex?"

Normally, Nico would've blushed and denied any physical contact to Will at all, but now he was half drunk and in a rather good mood, "Yeah. Sorry if that's weird, but, yeah…"

"Oh honey it's not weird." Ruby said. The loud tone left the woman's voice, and was replaced by a tender appreciation only a mother's voice could hold, "Will was always such a prude, I'm just glad somebody got him to drop his boxers."

Ruby touched Nico's face lightly, "I can tell that Will loves you. You make him happy, and I thank you for that."

Nico smiled, "I'm glad. Will makes me happy, too."