A/N: I really should stop writing these depressing Nico diAngelo one-shots, but I've been drinking and I'm in a bout of harsh depression right now. Writing is my outlet, so I don't hurt myself again or others. Anyway, enjoy the read. I'll try to write something a bit more cheerful in the near future.

"For a long time," Nico said, "I had a crush on you. I just wanted you to know."

Nico watched, doing his best to keep on a calm mask, as Percy looked back and forth from him to Annabeth. His heart was pounding, not with emotions as it had before, but with worry instead. His feelings for the son of Poseidon had disappeared without a trace, but it left him with an awareness that was bitter for him to swallow.

It wasn't going to be a one-time deal. Nico was sure of it now – he was batting for the opposite side of the team, and, honestly, he didn't know how he felt about that. It was a different century than the one he'd been born into, and people were much more accepting nowadays – but would the campers be?

"You –"

"Yeah," Nico said, cutting Percy off nervously. He shuffled his feet in the grass as he forced himself to retain eye contact with those confused green eyes. "You're a great person. But I'm over that. I'm happy for you guys."

"You … so you mean –"

"Right." Nico saw Annabeth turn towards him, her eyes sparkling and a friendly smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. He managed to give her a weak one in return, happy that Wisdom's daughter seemed okay with his words.

"Wait,' Percy said. "So you mean –"

"Right," Nico said again, starting to panic now. "But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now … you're cute, but you're not my type."

"I'm not your type … Wait. So –"

"See you around, Percy," Nico said, hearing his voice shake just the tiniest bit. The callous way that Percy was responding to his heartfelt confession was tearing his heart up inside. He was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. "Annabeth."

She gave him a high five before he managed to turn around all of the way, but as soon as her skin had left his Nico took off, running back down the hill where he'd come from. He was so flustered that he tore right past Will Solace, not even hearing his protest as Nico all but ran him down.

His breath started to hitch in the back of his throat, and he could feel tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. Nico wasn't sure where his feet were leading him, but he followed them blindly, not stopping until he felt the sand beneath him and his knees gave out of their own accord.

Burying his face in his hands, Nico gave a huge groan. He wasn't sure if he was more exasperated, or embarrassed. Gods, that was not how the guy you had a crush on for years on end was supposed to react when you confessed to him that you had those feelings for him. His fingers bored into his eyeballs as he hunched over his useless legs.

"Stop, stop, stop," Nico mumbled, trying to force the tears back into his ducts with physical force. "You're such a freaking baby."

"Nico?"

He tensed up, but didn't move from his position in the sand. Mind racing, he tried to place that voice. He knew that voice. That voice hadn't left him alone for more than five minutes ever since he had delivered that stupid freaking statue to the base of Half-Blood Hill. (And although it made him sick to admit it, he kind of liked the attention.)

Will Solace.

"Go away," Nico ground out, hating the way that his voice broke on the last word. In opposition, his heart started to beat irregularly, skipping beats every now and then. He hated every second of it. "Leave me alone."

He heard the son of Apollo give him a disgruntled grunt from above, before feeling the sand shift as he plopped down lightly next to him. "Nah, I think I'll stay here until you tell me what's bothering you so much that you trampled me in your haste to get away."

"You're an ass."

"Sure, sure. You going to answer me?"

Nico scrunched up his face, feeling it flame with embarrassment. He really did not want to be in company right now – especially him. "Please, Will, just go away."

"I'm fine right here. So?"

"Screw you, Will Solace," The dam behind his eyes started to crack at the seams, persistent tears fighting to get through. Slowly but surely, they began to dribble onto his pale cheeks, began to shake his shoulders with silent sobs. "I said, leave me the hell alone!"

The ground shook in response to Nico's outburst, sand in front of him sinking lower into the ground as if a chasm had opened up below them and was sucking it inside. The air around him turned cold, dropping in temperature faster than an incoming storm.

The sudden surge of power startled Nico, and he quickly started to rein in his powers slightly, not wanting a repeat of the last time Percy had gotten him all worked up.

Gods, it was always that idiot…

He heard Will swallow loudly from beside him. "Nico-"

"No, you don't get to freaking talk!" Nico all but screamed at him, dropping his hands and whirling to glare at Will with such ferocity that any other sane person would have taken as their leave. As it was, the healer's face went deathly pale. "You don't get to coddle me and tell me everything is going to be okay! It won't! I'm a freak!"

Nico turned towards the ocean, jaw jutting out stubbornly. He couldn't even look at the guy who'd nursed him back to health anymore. "I deserve to die. I don't deserve to be alive if I…if I'm gay."

The last word came out as a barely audible whisper, but Nico knew that Will Solace had caught it before the wind sucked it away. It was the first time that he had said it out loud, and a mixture of emotions rose inside of him.

Fear…Disgust…Relief…

His shoulders sagged as he let out a deep breath. "I'm gay. Happy now?"

Will said nothing for the longest stretch of time, so long that Nico was almost certain that he had fled. But, no, he could still see his ratty red converse high-tops half buried in the sand beside his hand, and knew that he was indeed still there.

When he finally spoke, it came out at a volume that rivaled Nico's. "Me too."

"What?" Nico turned to furrow his brow at Will, not catching on. "You too, what?"

"Gay. I'm gay, too."

His confused turned to fury. This was a new low to stoop to. "Don't you dare make fun of me – "

"Gods, Nico, you're so slow sometimes," Will rolled his eyes, leaning forward to press a kiss to Nico's right cheek. "I wouldn't make fun of you. I thought that you knew that."

Nico's hand came up to hold his face, mouth open. For once, his mind was blank, and he couldn't seem to form any words with his tongue.

"See you." Will said simply, and climbed to his feet.

He started trudging up the sand dunes, not turning back to see Nico watching him – or the shy smile that was slowly blooming over the son of Hades' face.

A/N: I guess it turned out okay? I was getting pretty sober towards the end of writing this…if I'd been drunk it would've turned out a lot differently.