*Hides behind a table* Ok, listen, I know it's kinda been 4 months since I was last on here, and honestly, I have no excuse. Schoolwork? I'm pretty sure everyone on this website has to deal with that. Extracurricular activities? They barely take up any of my time. Social life? Don't make me laugh.

The closest thing I can muster up to a pathetic excuse is that without reviews or PMs motivating me, I just sorta… meh. It's not your fault, though; it's my own laziness. I have been writing these past few months, but it's mainly been journal entries and half-finished fics.

So today, I promised to stop procrastinating and churn this oneshot out. It's fluffy, it's cliché, and it frankly disgusts me. But, it's something.

Disclaimer: I own neither PJO nor Bubble Wrap.

"Nico, it's only for a couple days!"

"And I told you before, Will, I'm just not sure this is a good idea!"

Will Solace and Nico di Angelo walked through the woods, heading towards the cabins and Big House. Well, it was more Nico striding uncomfortably quickly past the trees, scarcely a twig or leaf crunching underfoot, while Will followed as fast as he could, making as much noise as a hungry bear in a Bubble Wrap factory.

"Nico, it's just my mother! She'll love you, I promise. She's not, like, homophobic or anything if that's what you're worried-"

"I'm not worried!" Nico burst out indignantly, startling a nearby squirrel.

Will raised one eyebrow skeptically, which looked incredibly smooth and suave for several seconds… before he tripped over a tree root. "If you'd rather just stay here for the weekend, be my guest. But, you have to meet her sometime, so why not make it now? Besides, she's invited you to the Independence Day party; you can't just not come."

Nico mumbled something incoherent, staring resolutely at his feet.

Will smiled to himself, knowing he'd won. As they neared the cabins, he said nonchalantly, "So, I guess I'll be telling her you won't be coming, then. It's a huge shame; she was really looking forward to meeting you." He spun slowly away from his boyfriend, sighing dramatically, and dragged his feet towards the Apollo cabin as deliberately as he could manage. A few seconds passed before he heard a frustrated groan from behind him and suppressed a grin with extreme difficulty. "Something you'd like to tell me?" he said casually, looking over his shoulder.

"Don't think you've won anything," Nico grumbled.

"Won?" Will asked, batting his eyelashes innocently. "I wasn't aware we were competing."

"Shut up, you idiot, and at least let me pack a suitcase." A hot blush rose high on Nico's cheeks as he turned away, heading towards his cabin.

Will and Nico stood in front of Mrs. Solace's house in Miami. They'd just shadow-traveled from Camp, under Nico's insistence. Nico exhaled a bit shakily, and Will tightened his grip on his hand. "You'll be fine," he said breezily. "Come on, I'm excited!" He released his hand, skipping up the stairs onto the front porch, and Nico couldn't help but to snort at his boyfriend's antics before following him, albeit a bit reluctantly.

Will knocked three times, a wide smile on his face. The door flew open and Mrs. Solace, a chubby, maternal-looking woman with graying hair and a kind, careworn face, stood in the doorway, holding a rolling pin; she was up to her elbows in flour. She gasped when she saw Will and engulfed him in a tight hug. He made a strangled choking noise, and Nico repressed a giggle and rolled his eyes. Will's mother released him from her hold and proceeded to brush the flour off of his shirt. "Baby, I didn't think you'd be coming! You're always so busy at Camp, which is good in a way, but we miss you! I wish you'd visit more, but I know you're needed there-"

"Mom!" Will interjected. "Um, this is Nico… you know… my boyfriend."

Nico bit his lip and braced himself for the hate, as he had done all his life. Mrs. Solace surprised him, though, by smiling widely, her cheeks dimpling in exactly the same place as Will's, and wrapping him in a hug, nearly suffocating him. After what seemed like an eternity, she let him go and frowned, eyeing him up and down. "Oh, look at you," she said, concern in her eyes. "You're as thin as a twig, I swear. Come in, both of you. I'm making cookies!"

"I- er- um-" Nico stammered, his cheeks reddening.

Will laughed loudly. "You look like a tomato!"

Nico blushed even more, making Will shake his head and grab his hand to pull him into the house.

The next few hours passed uneventfully, with Mrs. Solace chattering as she made her way around the kitchen, finishing her batch of cookies, tossing a salad, and popping a chicken into the oven for dinner. She took to Nico almost immediately; perhaps it was his puppy dog eyes and shy, introverted personality that invoked a maternal instinct in her. Within the first hour, she had essentially adopted him as her second son.

She took the news that he was a son of Hades rather well. If anything, she seemed most surprised that "such a sweet boy" could be the descendant of Death. And, of course, she insisted that he was far too thin for his own good. Throughout her babbling, Will shot Nico a few covert glances, smiling knowingly. Once, when her back was turned, he whispered, "I think she likes you more than me."

Nico turned red for what seemed like the thousandth time that evening.

At around 6:00, the first of their neighbors began to come in. They were, unsurprisingly delighted to see Will back from his "summer camp." Half an hour later, the entire street had turned up in the Solaces' house, and the introductions and greetings and conversations were beginning to make Nico's head spin.

Will picked up on his discomfort quickly and grabbed his hand, leading him up the stairs and into his room. "Better, Sunshine?" he asked, smirking.

"Shut up," Nico muttered, blushing. "I don't like human interaction."

"I don't know," Will said, plopping down on his bed, "you seemed to rub off pretty well on my mom."

"Dude, let it go!" Nico exclaimed, lying down spread-eagled on Will's mattress. "I did absolutely nothing to make her like me."

Will sighed theatrically, and Nico elbowed him in the ribs. After lying in silence for a few minutes, Will said, "Do you want to watch a movie?"*

"Okay," Nico said, slightly bemused.

Half an hour later, Will and Nico were huddled together under the blankets, watching a 90s movie on Mrs. Solace's laptop. It was the Fourth of July, and the extremely predictable climax was just occurring. As fireworks exploded in the sky behind them, the protagonist duet leaned closer together, glancing at each other's lips. Nico groaned. "Why is it always the same?"

"Because it's traditional," Will said. "The idea of romance runs through these movies, and it's beautiful."

Nico raised his eyebrows, looking over at Will. "I never knew you were such a romantic, Solace." He averted his gaze back to the screen. "And besides, it's not traditional, it's clichéd."

Will gasped in mock outrage. "It is traditional. Old-school."

"Which are nice ways of saying it's a cliché, the very epitome of lazy screenwriting. Make the protagonists, who were destined to be together from the beginning, kiss a) while swimming, b) under a bridge in the rain, or c) under fireworks. Like, what is that all about?"

"What about our first kiss?" Will asked, a smile pretty much splitting his face open.

Nico's face suddenly resembled a tomato. "Is that what this is about?"

"Maybe…"

"Well, let's see… It was beside the campfire, so yeah, I'm pretty sure it was a cliché. But," he added, his voice softening from shyness, "it was a nice one."

Will grinned at him, dimples showing, leaning forward to capture his lips in a kiss.

Will's lips tasted sweet and chocolatey, and their hands were intertwined in each other's hair. The blankets were ridiculously soft, and Will's skin warm against Nico's. Through his closed eyelids, Nico could see the bright flashes of fireworks on the window, accompanied by a loud popping as the sky rained gold fire. Meanwhile, he and Will exchanged a fire of their own and his heart was beating out of his ribcage and his chest constricted like it was filling up with happiness…was this what love felt like? And maybe it was a little cliché…Okay, maybe a lot cliché. But if this was cliché, then perhaps clichés were good, or better than he thought they'd be, at least.

*Shudders* I don't like the ending very much.

* I'm aware that TV might attract monsters, but I had to find some way to put the kiss at the end in there. Meh.

So what did you think? (Ugh I was about to type "leave a comment down below and feel free to click subscribe" I HAVE BEEN WATCHING TOOO MUCH YOUTUBE).

Feel free to review, and thanks for reading! And, of course, Happy Sidewalk Egg-Frying Day! (I'm not joking).