Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—the Percy Jackson universe or any of its characters. All credit goes to rightful owner, Mr. Rick Riordan.

Content Warning: I am addressing what happened in The Burning Maze.

Living with Will Solace was easy. Easier than Nico had thought it would be. He was a laid-back guy, with a fierce fire and commendable study ethics.

First time they met, when they coincidentally moved into the same dorm room, was on moving-in day. Nico had only brought Hazel who had convinced her boyfriend, Frank, to also tag along. The drive there had been more cheerful, and less awkward, than Nico expected. When they started moving his many boxes, he also found he was quite happy with the arrangement of helpers. When they entered the room, however, it was almost impossible to move back and forth. Inside Nico's shared room, were a handful of people. A woman who looked oddly familiar, though Nico was sure he'd never run into her. A girl who looked mean-spirited, with a bulky built and wiry hair. Another girl who seemed to solidify out of nothing whenever she walked back and forth. And a scrawny guy who kept cracking jokes and stealing things out of Will's boxes. Nico learnt the familiar woman was the country singer Naomi Solace, mother of his new roommate Will Solace. The bulky girl was Clarisse La Rue. The girl who kept popping out of nowhere was Lou Ellen Blackstone. And the wise-crack was Cecil Markowitz.

It was hectic, and then it was quiet when they were only two and had to go through the compulsory greetings and getting-to-know-yous. After that, it was like something clicked. Even though Will was generally laid back, had fantastic social skills he tried to share, and made friend much more easily than Nico, he also had a fire; as mentioned. He didn't take shit from anybody, and when he became stubborn, even Nico had trouble making him back down, which was saying a lot, because people usually said Nico was the most stubborn person in any room. There was a fire and a passion in almost anything he did, and he got Nico to join the GSA thing when they started talking about being gay, and rowing up gay, and coming out as gay, and holy crap Will was also gay.

It was almost strange, to navigate that space, where they became easy friends. They bantered, and they jabbed at each other, and they pushed each other's buttons just for fun. They had odd arguments about nothing and burst out laughing once they cooled down and said their sorries. They texted each other when they were out on errands or ran around campus and got slightly bored. Nico could honestly not remember the last time he connected so well to someone his own age. All his friends were older than him, and Jason had teased him with how hard college would be, how little he would sleep, how his life would slip away into nothing but assignments. Nico had known Jason exaggerated. He still felt like choking him out whenever he invited himself over to Nico's dorm to bug him.

Of course, all the odd, older friends Nico had, quickly took to Will, and so, when they went out, it was like there were way too many of them when they invited the whole friend group and their plus one.

Nico, Will, Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Juniper, Leo, Calypso, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Lou Ellen, Cecil, and few times Thalia. Although they did get to book that escape room that one time, and it was hysterical, and Will was by Nico's side the whole time and clung onto his arm whenever he felt scared, which he apparently did most of the time in the room. Nico didn't mind it. He never minded Will's touches, which was another oddity, because Nico was definitely not a touchy person. So yeah, being Will's roommate and friend was really nice. But it was also really frustrating.

They started in September, and from then until now—New Year's Eve—Nico had grown quite fond of Will. Had developed a crush that put whatever-it-was-he-had-for-Percy to shame. Will was so smart, and fun, and understanding, and steadfast, and knew when to back down and when to put Nico in his place. He didn't tip-toe around people, he was honest like Nico himself, but in a whole different way. While Nico was blunt, Will eased into the truth if it was a hard truth to swallow. He had empathy and understanding, and Nico had told him things he hadn't even told Jason. Or Reyna. Or Hazel. Talking to Will was so easy, and Nico knew he wasn't the only one who thought so. He was so painfully aware of it at this very moment, standing in the fraternity house that hosted this year's New Year's celebration. While Nico had a few acquaintances here and there, he didn't wisp around as much as Will. Everyone wanted to say hi to Will, and a handful guys took turns flirting with Will, which made Nico's insides boil. But at the same time, he honestly didn't blame all those guys who wanted Will. Heck, Nico wanted Will; he definitely understood the appeal. He just wasn't so sure he wanted to listen to Will gush about these guys if he started anything with them, or if he wanted to be their friend, or if he wanted to be able to listen if Will brought them back to the dorm. That might not be healthy for him.

Will was such a gift in Nico's life, honestly. He was someone Nico wouldn't want to fall out of contact with. He was someone Nico wanted to be with as more than a friend, but despite knowing Will was also gay, Nico was scared. He was used to losing people around him; especially if they meant a lot.

He had lost his mother when he was eight. He had lost Bianca when he was twelve. His father had been so absent most of his life, he honestly felt like he had lost him for a good amount of time too. He didn't make many friends and was lonely as a child and teen. He probably lost a big chunk of himself when Percy and Annabeth became a thing, and he had to work so hard to get that chunk back, because he felt like he had no one to talk to, or go to, and people said gays were gross, so maybe people were right, and then he hated himself while trying to pick up pieces. It was hard to pick up pieces when you felt like you didn't deserve those pieces. It wasn't really until Jason became his friends, and learnt about his secret, and started coaxing Nico into his friend group—that Hazel also happened to be a part of—Nico started picking up those pieces for real. He had lost people close to him. He had lost himself. And sometimes, those memories, those feelings, made it scary to commit beyond friendships. Even though friends could be lost as well, and were scary to have in their own right, a boyfriend might be terrifying to have.

Will knew all of this, of course. Will knew all of Nico's darkest secrets and moments and feelings. And Nico knew all of Will's. Still, Nico wasn't sure how to get past this fear of committing to a person as much as people seemed to commit to their significant others. Still, Nico knew he would regret it if he didn't try. He would never let himself live it down. So, he should try tonight. He decided that, just as Will came over to him.

He smiled as he usually did, but there was worry in his eyes. "di Angelo." He teased, giving Nico a chat.

Nico rolled his eyes at him. "Solace."

Last-name-basis was one of their things. They probably had too many of those, to be honest. Nico liked it. He wasn't sure he would ever admit it, but he did.

"What are you thinking about?" Will stood next to him by the finger-food table and took something.

"Who says I'm thinking?" Nico challenged.

"Please," Will snorted. "I can hear you all the way across the room."

"How does that even work?"

Will shrugged. "Call it a hunch. Or a link. Or fate—"

"Or your over-active imagination." He jabbed Will in the side and Will flicked his cheek.

"Or that. Point is, it sounded like cogs creaking and groaning, about to give out. You were giving me a headache with all that thinking."

"How can my thinking give you a headache?"

"I'm an empath." Will took another finger-food. "I thought we established that ages ago. When people close to me hurt, I hurt. It's a curse, really."

"I wonder if there's a scientific explanation to that phenomenon."

"Probably not. Maybe I should look into it for my bachelor's assignment."

"Thinking ahead much, Doctor?" Nico swatted at him.

Will laughed and swatted him in return. "Look who's talking, probably-future-CEO."

Nico groaned. "My dad won't shut up about how business runs in our blood. I should definitely choose something else."

"Like what?" Will took a third finger-food and offered Nico one. Nico let Will feed him without thinking too much about it.

"Politics?"

This made Will laugh good-naturedly. "Well. It's not too late to change directions."

"Problem is," Nico said, feeding Will just because he could, "my mum's dad was in America's Italian embassy. If I choose politics, my dad will still go on about how it runs in the blood. I'm sure he can find examples of anything I decide on, and I'm sure he will gladly do it just to spite me."

"Exaggerations." Will said, giving Nico a slight shove with his shoulders. They stood pressed together after that. "I shouldn't expect anything from you though. You're all drama."

"Says you," Nico shoved him back. "You get so whiny whenever it gets slightly chilly. It sounds like you're about to die. Not to mention how much you complain at night."

"Yet, you never come to heat me up. Cold-hearted."

Nico's heart skipped a beat, and the tips of Will's ears were red, but he was clearly trying to pretend his statement didn't faze him. This was Nico's chance. He didn't know if what they sometimes did counted as flirting, even when it felt like it, and he didn't know how good he was at it, but he wanted to test the waters.

He turned to Will and ran a finger up his upper arm. "Is that an invitation, Solace?"

Will shivered, his skin breaking out in gooseflesh. Nico thoroughly enjoyed it.

"It can be, if you want it to be," he answered, his voice trembling.

"Maybe I do. Want it to be." Nico faced Will fully now, playing with his shirt. He smelled like lemon-lime and antiseptics.

"Well…" Will was breathless, and Nico was burning up. "The it definitely is. An invitation. To come cuddle with me. Because I'm cold in the night."

Nico mustered all his courage and ignored the burning sensation coiling in his stomach. He loved this more than he ever cared to admit. He stood slightly on his toes, because Will was slightly taller than him.

"I accept. Your invitation. Will." It was important to use Will's first name for this. Nico wasn't sure why, he just knew it was.

Will swallowed and took a hold of Nico's lower back, while Nico pulled himself closer by circling his arms around Will's neck.

"Just… just cuddling, though." Will said, his breath warm against Nico's lips. "To start with."

"Sounds good to me," Nico agreed.

And then they kissed while people cheered in the background because it was now midnight, and Nico had started his new year with a kiss.

He got a text around four pm that day from Piper. On their way back home, Piper, Leo, and Jason had been involved in a car accident. Jason hadn't made it.

Nico also started his new year with a loss, and a boyfriend who had to hold him as he sobbed.

I. Am. Sorry.