A/N: So I was rereading Blood of Olympus, but just the Nico and Reyna chapters, and I was reminded that Lycaon rips up Nico's aviator jacket and Nico just. Gets rid of it? And I was personally offended for a minute before remembering that Nico's aviator jacket is not nearly as important to him in canon as it is in this fandom but then I was like, "Wait a minute. I would definitely have noticed if Nico still didn't have an aviator jacket in Trials of Apollo" so I checked Hidden Oracle, and he does but it's? A different one? It's specifically described as a "black leather bomber jacket", while the other one was always just called "an aviator's jacket" so clearly it's a new jacket. And anyway, I decided that Will got it for him, and so this is the story of how that happened, featuring Percy Jackson being just as frustratingly mean to Nico as he is in canon but also trying his best to be less mean cause he recognizes that Nico's life is sad.

I hope you guys like it. I apologize in advance for all the long paragraphs, run-on sentences, and multi-word-hyphenated adjectives, but also no I don't because Rick really missed an opportunity in canon to use stylistic run-on sentences when 90% of his narrators are ADHD. Anyway, enjoy, and please let me know what you think in a review! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. This fic is dedicated to needneverbehopeless because I told her the concept of it and she was like "fake why doesn't Nico just get a jacket" and I was like "listen it's gay" and then I made her beta this 14-page mess.

The fact that Nico's aviator jacket had been literally lost to the wolves didn't seem to matter until about mid-September.

After the battle against Gaea, Nico di Angelo had been quick to shed his tropical shirt from Puerto Rico and go back to his son-of-a-death-god all-black attire. By the time he spent Will's required three days in the Camp Half-Blood infirmary, he'd found a new skull shirt to wear, although Will had no idea where he'd gotten it, since Nico didn't exactly keep extra clothes in the Hades Cabin, and Will had a hard time imagining the son of Hades shopping at Macy's. He must have had some kind of clothing reserve, though, Will realized, because after that, he started seeing Nico in a rotating slew of band t-shirts, and his once-singular outfit that Lycaon had destroyed was long forgotten.

Once they started dating (although Will used the term "dating" extremely lightly, since Nico hated labels, was still very slowly getting used to physical contact, and couldn't go on an actual date with him until they could leave camp at the end of the summer), Will didn't pay much attention to Nico's clothing choices except to think, Gods, he looks hot. But then fall rolled around, leaving Camp Half-Blood only its year-rounders, and Will waited about nineteen seconds, for the sake of politeness, before he dragged Nico to the Big House to ask Chiron for permission to go into the city.

"Is this really necessary?" the son of Hades complained, stopping at the bottom of the Big House's front steps.

Will climbed all the way up to the porch before turning around to give him a pleading look. Nico's shirt advertised The 1975 today; he had his hands shoved in his jeans pockets, and shadows gathered hesitantly around his shoulders, like he wanted to fade into them and escape but knew that if he did, he might actually fade. He looked uncomfortable, more than anything, and Will frowned as he realized his boyfriend might not just be being difficult out of principle.

"Do you really not want to go out with me?" he asked, trying not to make Nico feel too guilty, but- oh, who was he kidding, trying to make Nico feel very guilty.

The son of Hades flinched, so it worked, and let out a deep sigh that seemed to release the shadows hovering around him. "Of course I do," he said sincerely, and Will waited anxiously for the "but" that was sure to come. But Nico just smiled- translation: softened his expression and quirked his lips just slightly upward in what Will could tell was the Nico di Angelo equivalent of a smile- and said, "You're right. Don't worry about it."

Will worried, because Will was a doctor and a demigod, and doctors and demigods had to worry, but he decided not to press the issue for now. If something was wrong, Nico would tell him. Probably. He was just used to shadow-traveling wherever he pleased and didn't know how to feel about going through the official channels, Will was… pretty sure. He tried to push his concerns to the side, for the moment at least, and held his hand out to Nico, who climbed the stairs without taking it and then gently bumped his shoulder against Will's before standing a good three feet away. Which, you know, was an improvement from a month ago, so. Will wasn't complaining.

Chiron was more than willing to allow them the day off once Will explained the situation, and even offered to have Argus drive them into Manhattan since he "knew Mr. di Angelo was still recovering."

Now, Will hadn't known Nico for very long, and therefore had yet to witness the epic standoff that was Nico vs. Authority. The glare Nico sent Chiron's way at a) the suggestion that he sit in a car for an hour making awkward small talk with a hundred-eyed driver who couldn't talk back, instead of just shadow-traveling, which, b) he could definitely do because he was fine, was deadly enough to fully repopulate the Underworld. Will knew he shouldn't have been amused by it, or by the slightly-terrified-of-a-fourteen-year-old-demigod despite-being-in-charge-and-also-immortal look Chiron got in his eyes, but he found himself grinning at the whole situation anyway.

And when Will said, "Of course we'll take a ride from Argus! That sounds great!" and Nico turned the death glare on him, his grin only widened.

Because that was the thing, see. Will Solace, against all better judgment and advice from the Prophecy's Seven, was plain and simply not afraid of Nico di Angelo.

He knew, deep down, that objectively he should've been. After all, Nico could probably kill him in twelve different ways without breaking a sweat (when properly fed and rested, anyway). But he also knew that, despite being the son of Hades and having crazy-scary-powerful abilities, Nico wasn't a bad person. He was in fact, contrary to popular belief among demigods and monsters alike, quite a good person. He would never purposefully, or accidentally if he could help it, do anything that would hurt the people he loved. And, well.

So Will was fine.

Nico grumbled the entire walk from the Big House to where the camp van was parked, and at this point Will honestly wasn't sure if it was still because they were driving instead of shadow-traveling, or because Will wouldn't tell him where they were going.

"It's a surprise," he said for the millionth time, still grinning excitedly nonetheless. "But you'll like it, I promise."

"I hate surprises," Nico insisted, but Will could see that ghost of a smile (pun intended) he'd gotten used to over the last month.

As soon as they got in the car, however, his smile faded and the atmosphere completely changed. Nico had been moody before, and almost insultingly unenthusiastic, but Will had known better than to take it personally, because Nico di Angelo had the emotional maturity of a graham cracker, so being friends with him meant you learned not to take anything too personally.

But once they were in the car, and Argus officially crossed the camp's borders, Nico just… Stiffened. Pressed up against the car door, as far away from Will as he could possibly get. Shoved his hands into his jeans again.

"Hey, are you okay?" Will tried to ask at one point, frowning in concern and gently reaching across the seat to put a hand on Nico's shoulder.

But Nico flinched away from him like he'd been shocked, said much too quickly for Will's liking, "Yeah, I'm fine," and leaned forward towards the front seat, turning the heat all the way up so that the blasting hot air drowned out anything else Will might've said, and glaring at Argus when he sent him an incredulous look through both the rearview mirror and the back of his head.

The restaurant Will had chosen to be the site of his and Nico's first official date was called Southern Inhospitality, and it combined all of Nico's favorite things- loud music (so that he could eat without being pressured to carry on a conversation), few people (because Nico hated people), and utterly bored waiters (because Nico hated happy people even more). Will had purposefully picked a time when the restaurant was almost empty, asked for a table near the back so that they could be right underneath the speakers and far away from the few crowds there were, and made sure to personally request Jim, the emo (goth? Will still didn't understand the difference no matter how many times Nico explained it to him) 20-something who took, filled, and charged their order while saying as few words as possible.

It should've been perfect. Will had done everything in his power, and then some, to make certain that it would be perfect. And for awhile, it kind of was. Nico ordered more food than Will expected him to eat (his appetite kind of came and went these days, but "We have leftovers" was almost always a good incentive for him to make himself eat something). He drank more coffee than was probably healthy for someone of his body weight, and gave Will that tiny ghost of a smile, paired with a wicked gleam in his eyes, as he offered to pour cream into Will's cup and then dropped the whole container in when Will said he wanted all of it. Will didn't make him talk, and Nico didn't have much to say, but the silence was almost serene in its lack of awkwardness, especially when every once in a while Nico would recognize a song that was playing and start dramatically mouthing the words.

It was a really nice date, for the first half an hour or so. It was the kind of date that reminded Will why he liked Nico so much, and why they were so good for each other despite being totally and utterly incompatible on paper. For awhile, Will forgot that Nico had been acting weird altogether, and probably would've chalked it up to nerves before the date if he'd had a mind to really think about it.

But then the employees-only back door right behind their table opened with a ding as one of the waiters ended their shift. A cool fall wind blew into the restaurant, ruffling the napkins on their laps and pushing Nico's apparently-not-styled-but-there's-no-way-that's-natural hair just slightly out of place. And again, things changed. Nico stilled, hand curling tighter around his fork. He hunched up his shoulders and then stiffly put his utensils down, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms tightly over his chest. The door behind them swung closed, and a shudder ran through Nico's slight frame.

Will just gaped at him for a moment, mentally running through their last few minutes of not-conversation to see if he'd done something wrong.

He didn't think he'd done anything wrong. Nico had just… shifted. Changed. And Will, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why.

"You all right there, Solace?" Nico deadpanned, making Will realize with a jolt that he was still staring.

"Yeah, sorry," he assured, smiling sheepishly. "Are you okay? You look… uncomfortable."

There was that equivalent-of-a-smile again, except this time it looked sadder. Nico hugged his arms closer. "I'm fine. Done eating though, I think, so. Whenever you're ready to go."

Will wasn't entirely convinced, but he hurried to get the check anyway.

They emerged onto the streets of New York 20 minutes later, after a long and harrowing argument over who was going to pay for dinner ("I picked the restaurant, it should be my treat." "My dad's the god of wealth, I am literally loaded." "I have an actual job." "The infirmary doesn't pay you!" etc. etc.). It was just another of their usual day-to-day fights that Will preferred to call charming banter, but with an almost uncomfortable edge since Nico clearly didn't want to be in that restaurant any longer than he had to. When they finally made it outside, having split the check 50-50, Nico stopped at the curb, while Will continued down the street, heading uptown.

"Where are you going?" Nico called to him without moving from his spot. "Argus said he'd pick us up here!"

Will spun around to face him, grinning even as he kept walking backwards. "I thought we'd take a little walk first before heading back to camp," he called back. "I haven't been in the city since the Battle of Mt. Olympus!"

Nico hesitated, but then rolled his eyes and followed him, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders hunched up around his ears. As soon as he caught up, Will stepped closer, testing the boundaries of personal space before he carefully wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulders. A shiver ran through him, but he didn't push Will away, and his shoulders relaxed. Will decided that was good enough for now.

They ended up following 2nd Avenue into the Upper East Side, making idle chatter along the way. Will could tell that Nico still wasn't entirely comfortable, for whatever reason, but he clearly had no intention of telling Will why.

Will knew he shouldn't worry. That Nico was probably fine, and if something were really wrong, he would either tell Will or fix it himself. If anything, Will should've just left it alone and given Nico his space. But he couldn't, because despite his better judgment he was worried, and he knew that if Nico wasn't going to tell him what was bothering him, then Will was going to have to figure it out himself.

He slowed, pulling Nico to a stop on the corner of E. 100th Street and 2nd Avenue. If he wasn't mistaken, only one block over and four blocks up was…

"Why don't you go ahead back to Camp?" he asked, hoping Nico wouldn't ask too many questions. "I've gotta… pick up some prescriptions for the infirmary. Could take a couple hours." Nico's brows furrowed in totally-valid disbelief, but then Will added, "Of course you can come with me if you want," and Nico hastily stepped a few feet away, eyes wide with that Dear gods, please no look that usually accompanied Will's outing suggestions.

"I'll head back to Camp," Nico agreed, and this time the implied "but" came all the way to fruition, "but are you really gonna make me ride back with Argus all by myself?" His tone was beyond hopeful. It was downright mischievous.

Will rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can shadow-travel," he said, and Nico's equivalent-of-a-smile grew into something almost resembling an actual smile. "But, make good choices, and you have to go to the infirmary right away if you start to turn even the slightest bit transparent. Deal?"

Nico smirked. "Deal." He took the bag of leftovers out of Will's hand and then stepped back again, letting the shadows made by the the setting sun gather around him. "Thank you, Will," he said once he was half-cloaked in darkness. "For tonight, I mean. I had a good time."

Will couldn't help but smile at that, and started to feel a little guilty for what he was about to do behind Nico's back. "So did I. I'll see you later." He leaned forward to give Nico a kiss on the cheek, but the son of Hades was already gone.

Will had never actually been to Percy Jackson's apartment, but he knew where it was, because it was his job as a doctor to know things like that. He reached the building just as darkness fell over the city, so he had to squint, wishing he had Nico's nightvision, to find the button labeled Jackson.

"Hello?" a familiar voice spoke tinnily through the little speaker once Will had pressed the buzzer.

"Percy, hey," Will spoke into the intercom, suddenly feeling awkward. "It's, uh, it's Will. Solace. From Camp."

For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Percy said, "Hey, man! Come on up!" and the apartment building's door unlocked with a buzz.

Will climbed the five flights of stairs up to Percy's floor since there didn't seem to be an elevator, trying to plan out what he was going to say as he went.

But when he knocked on the door and Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and two-time world-saver, opened it wearing gray sweatpants and nothing else, his mind went totally blank.

Because, see, here's the thing. There were three types of people at Camp Half-Blood, as far as Will was concerned: people he considered his friends, people he knew by name but had never actually spoken to, and people he knew all too well despite not being close, but only because they kept performing stupid acts of heroism and ending up in the infirmary.

Percy Jackson was somehow a mixture of all three. And his history with Nico, which Will still only knew bits and pieces of, really didn't make it any easier for Will to decide how to feel about the guy. They'd always been mutually polite to each other. But they'd never really interacted outside of times of crisis.

And as worried as Will was about his boyfriend, he knew this wasn't really a time of crisis.

Therefore, Will and Percy had no idea how to act around each other. The fact that Percy Jackson was unarguably hot and currently shirtless did not help.

"So…" Percy said awkwardly, tapping his fingers against the doorframe. "Will. What's, uh… what are you… doing here?"

Will cleared his throat, trying hard not to stare at Percy's bare chest (which was aggravatingly difficult, since the son of Poseidon was just enough inches taller than him that Will's eyeline was right at his clavicle). He dragged his gaze up into Percy's sea-green eyes. "I need your help with something. It's about Nico."

Percy frowned. "Are you… sure you want my help? I mean, since he…?"
Will rolled his eyes. "You're straight and he's over you. I am so not threatened," he said bluntly.

Percy looked a little taken aback (over-confident straight boys, gods), but then nodded, said, "Fair enough. Come on in, then, I guess," and stepped back to let Will through the door.

Percy's apartment was smaller than Will had expected it to be, for some reason, but his bedroom met Will's expectations exactly: messy and blue.

"Are your parents home?" he thought to ask as Percy led him into his room and pulled on a camp t-shirt (thank the gods) from a pile on the floor.

"Nah," Percy assured him. "They're at parent-teacher conferences at my school. Which is probably weird since at one point Paul will be both."

Now fully dressed, Percy sat down on the edge of his bed and gestured for Will to take the chair by his desk. "So," he then said again once Will had moved a few scattered things to the side and they were both seated. "What's the Ghost King done this time?"

And so, Will explained everything he'd witnessed that day- Nico's reluctance to leave Camp in the first place, his insistence on tense silence in the car, and the way his attitude at the restaurant had switched from perfectly fine to wanting to leave in eight and a half seconds.

"I think something's wrong and he's not telling me," Will concluded. "You know Nico better than anyone; what do you think?"

Percy shifted his weight back and forth, frowning thoughtfully. Finally, he said, "I think… I don't know Nico nearly as well as you think I do? I've only really spent time with him 10 or 15 times since we met, and he's been a pretty private person since he was eleven." He shrugged, almost apologetically. "This all sounds like normal Nico behavior to me. Sorry, Will."

Will glared at the floor. "I don't know. I still say something's off."

"He's not good with people," Percy tried to point out.

"He is with me!" Will snapped, turning a glare that could've rivaled his boyfriend's on the son of Poseidon. Almost immediately, his expression softened and he looked away again. "Sorry, Percy. I'm just paranoid. Worried I'm gonna upset him and he's gonna leave again, I guess… You're probably right."

Percy shrugged again, his bright eyes sad. "Like I said, I really don't know him that well. Maybe you should ask Jason, since they're-"

Actually friends, he didn't say, but the words hung unspoken in the air like a tangible threat.

Percy cleared his throat, blushing slightly. "Since he and Nico are close, I mean."

"Yeah," Will muttered, and got to his feet without looking his boyfriend's childhood hero in the eye. "I guess I'll talk to him next time he comes to Camp. Thanks, Percy."

The words were polite, but Percy winced nonetheless. "Anytime, Will. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful."

The next time Jason Grace came to Camp Half-Blood happened to be that weekend, but by the time he got there, Will had honestly forgotten he'd wanted to talk to him.

Because in the days after their mostly-successful first date, things seemed to go back to normal for Will and Nico. They spent as much time together as they could, going to activities with the Apollo Cabin and communing with various dead people when Nico's father asked him to. Will helped Nico and a few zombie helpers pick out new décor for the Hades Cabin. Nico cut bandages for Will in the infirmary and helped him during non-invasive procedures by annoying his patients into forgetting they were in pain. Slowly, Nico got used to using his shadow-powers again, with Will's gentle guidance, until he was certain that he could transport another statue across the world if he had to (but he promised Will that he had no intention of doing so).

Most of all, Nico seemed happy. Ghost of a smile, arms crossed loosely over his chest, only Will could tell, Nico happy, but happy.

Will probably would've let the weirdness of their first date go and forgotten about the whole thing, if he hadn't gone into the Apollo Cabin to grab some extra gauze for the infirmary and found, instead of any of his siblings, Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, and Piper McLean sitting on two of the bunks.

Will blinked, thinking maybe he was imagining things. He'd been working in the infirmary for almost 14 hours straight, after all. He was definitely sleep-deprived. But the hallucinations didn't go away. The three heroes just stayed there, smiling broadly at him (or at least, Jason and Piper did, anyway. Percy kind of looked like he still wasn't sure if he should be there, and honestly, Will agreed).

"Um. Hi," Will finally said, breaking the silence. "What are you guys doing in my cabin?"

Jason stood up, having the decency to look at least a little bit sheepish, and grabbed Will's hand to shake. "Hey, Will, sorry to burst in on you like this, but Percy mentioned you and Nico were having some problems?"
Percy explained that he'd told Jason what Will had said, and Jason explained that he'd then told Piper and asked her to help out, since she was their resident relationship expert (although how a teenaged straight girl could be considered an expert on gay relationships, Will didn't know, daughter of Aphrodite or not). Ten minutes later found Will lying on his bed, original errand forgotten, staring dejectedly at the ceiling and repeating everything he'd told Percy almost a week ago, as well as his most recent observation that everything seemed to be fine now that they were back at Camp Half-Blood.

"I still say this is just Nico being Nico," Percy put in once Will had finished. "In case you guys haven't noticed, he's a weird kid."

"Only around you, Percy," Will and Jason said simultaneously, one more angrily than the other, as Will sat up to glare at him.

Percy blinked, wide-eyed, looking back and forth between the two blonde-haired, blue-eyed friends of Nico in front of him, then leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest in surrender, and muttered, "So that's his type…"

"So basically what you're saying, Will," Piper summarized, trying to bring the conversation back on track, "is that you don't think Nico had any problems with the concept of going on a date with you, but that something about actually leaving Camp and going to a restaurant and being in the city upset him somehow."

Will nodded. "Essentially, yeah. And I know I shouldn't worry about it anymore since he's fine now, but like. What if this happens every time we try to go out in the real world? I don't want us to be that couple that only works at Camp."

The one theory Will had already considered- the one he was hoping Jason, Piper, and Percy wouldn't suggest- was that Nico was uncomfortable being seen on a date with a guy. Will knew that Nico had grown up at a time when being gay was literally illegal, and he knew that Nico was still working with some issues regarding that (he and Will had had many iterations over the past month of the "those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter" conversation, and when that didn't work, Will had had to promise Nico that at least the entire Apollo Cabin wouldn't care- because Kayla had two dads and also every child of Apollo was bisexual- so as long as Nico stuck with them he'd be fine). But, again. Will and Nico were a couple who almost never touched. They hadn't kissed yet (sometimes Nico would allow Will to kiss him on the cheek, but only when no one was looking), they held hands but only inside the Hades or Apollo cabins, and every once in awhile Nico would be in a good mood and let Will put his arm around him, but Will always made sure to do it in kind of a bro way, just in case. Anyone passing by them on the street or seeing them at their table in the restaurant would've thought they were just two straight friends having dinner together. So that definitely wasn't the problem.

(And by the way, yes, Will knew that pretending to be straight outside of Camp was not a sign of a healthy relationship- he'd come out of the closet a long time ago and had no intentions of going back in- but he also knew that it was what Nico needed to be okay with dating him, and that they would grow as a couple and eventually move past it all. So it was fine. But he did not want to have to explain all of that to Percy, Jason, and Piper.)

Luckily, none of the heteronormative heroes even considered that internalized homophobia might be the cause of their problems. They all had very different ideas.

"Do you think he's developed an eating disorder?" Piper asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. "That might explain why he didn't like eating out at a restaurant- plus, Jason, you remember how little he ate on the Argo II."

Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the suggestion, reminding himself that these people hadn't spent practically every minute of every day with Nico for the past month like he had. "It's not that," he assured them. "Nico eats plenty now, as long as you put something in front of him. He likes eating, you just sometimes have to remind him he's allowed to. Next theory?"

Piper didn't look entirely convinced, but she thankfully didn't press the issue.

"Do you think it was the crowds?" Jason tried next. "Maybe Nico was uncomfortable being around that many people."

"No, but I made sure the restaurant was almost empty," Will countered, although Jason wasn't wrong that Nico didn't do well in large crowds of people he didn't know. "And honestly, he seemed the least uncomfortable when we were just walking down the street."

So there went that theory as well.

Will didn't expect much from Percy, since he'd been so utterly unhelpful the other day, but after they'd all sat there thinking for a few more minutes, the son of Poseidon spoke up.

"You know… there's always the possibility that even Nico doesn't know what was wrong. I mean, you know… maybe something just… set him off."

"Set him off?" Jason repeated, frowning.

Percy shrugged. "Reminded him of Tartarus."

A tense, heavy silence fell over the four of them.

Then finally, Piper said what they were all thinking. "Well, gods, I hope it wasn't that."

Will fell back onto his bed with a groan.

The next day, Jason, Piper, and Percy all kept a particularly close eye on the son of Hades, trying to confirm or deny their respective theories, while Will Solace did his best to keep Nico from noticing that his friends were stalking him.

It wasn't easy, with Piper staring across the dining pavilion at Nico during every meal, Jason convincing as many counselors as he could to match their schedules with the Apollo Cabin's, and Percy not-so-subtly slipping a pamphlet under Nico's cabin door that advertised coping strategies for victims of PTSD.

It was with this pamphlet in hand that Nico stormed into the infirmary that night and demanded, "Have you been talking to people about me?"

Will froze, then quickly finished stitching up a particularly nasty cut on Chiara Benvenuti's arm, and turned to face his boyfriend, who was holding up the crumpled piece of paper in an angrily clenched fist. Shadows swirled around his feet, causing hairline fractures to appear in the floor. Behind him, Percy, Jason, and Piper hovered sheepishly in the doorway.

"Sembra che tu sia nei guai…" Chiara murmured.

"Oh, he is," Nico assured her. Will didn't know what the Italian meant, but he flinched nonetheless. "Well?" Nico prompted.

Well, Will decided this was as good a time as any, with four witnesses and a cabin full of healers present in case Nico tried to kill him. He pulled off the latex gloves he'd been wearing and reluctantly confessed the worry he'd felt for Nico since he'd behaved so strangely on their date, and how he'd enlisted the help of Percy and Jason (and by default, Piper) to figure out what might be wrong. By the time he'd finished, Nico's gaze had darkened into the deadliest glare Will had ever seen, but at least the shadows around him had stilled, and no undead warriors rose from the ground to devour him.

Finally, Will had told him everything, and fell silent. For a few moments, Nico just stood there glaring at him, not responding, and Will's heart darkened with dread at the thought of losing this boy who meant so much to him when they hadn't even kissed yet.

But then Nico's eyes softened. His lips quirked up in that ghost of a smile. His fists unclenched at his sides, and the therapy pamphlet fluttered out of his grasp and onto the ground. Nico turned his gaze on the cracks in the floor, his hair shielding his dark eyes from view, and his shoulders started to shake.

It took Will longer than he was proud of to realize that the son of Hades was laughing.

"For the gods' sake, Will," Nico managed between gasping chuckles. "What the Hades were you thinking?" He sobered up immediately, but there remained an amused glint in his eyes. "Did you really think that if something were wrong, I wouldn't have told you? Did you really think that if something were wrong, it wouldn't have continued to be wrong, instead of disappearing from existence as soon as we got back to Camp?"

Will was struck speechless, but luckily for him, Nico didn't seem to be done.

"I had a great time the other night, Will. I told you that. No, I didn't like leaving Camp. No, I didn't like riding in Argus's van through midtown traffic. No, I didn't like sitting in that drafty restaurant right next to the emergency exit. But that wasn't because of you! It wasn't because I didn't want to be on a date with you, and it definitely wasn't because I was anorexic, or introverted, or- gods of Olympus- triggered about Tartarus!" Piper, Jason, and Percy flinched in turn. Nico turned another death glare on the son of Poseidon and added, "If something was gonna trigger me about Tartarus, you really think it would be the island of Manhattan?" Percy wisely took a few steps back.

"Will, I didn't want to leave Camp because I never want to be outside in New York after Labor Day," Nico continued, turning back to his boyfriend. "As soon as we cross the camp borders, the weather's not controlled anymore, and anything under 65 degrees might as well be Antarctica for me, because- in case you haven't noticed- I have the body heat of a post-rigor-mortis corpse!"

He grabbed Will's arm with an ice-cold hand to prove his point, and Will couldn't help but blush at the unusual initiation of physical contact from the son of Hades, despite the fact that Will knew this really wasn't the time to be smitten.

Nico stepped closer, keeping his grip on Will's arm, so that they were only inches apart. Will swallowed.

"During my shadow trip across the world with Reyna and Hedge, Lycaon the gods-damned werewolf ripped up my jacket, and I haven't had time to get a new one yet because I've been spending my free time with you," Nico explained, his voice low so that only Will could hear him. "It was fine while we stayed at Camp where it didn't get cold, I don't regret not having time for a shopping trip," Will fought back a smile, "but then you up and decided that we needed to have a real date out in the real world, and I didn't say anything because you were so damn excited about it, but that's why I was acting weird. Because I was cold. That's it. Not any other stupid reason my so-called friends came up with. And I didn't say anything about it later because I didn't want you to feel bad about making me go, and compared to all the other hellish things I've been through, I was fine. Okay?"

It took Will a moment to realize Nico was done (because he'd been on such a roll, not at all because Will had been starting to get lost in his night-black eyes that were really more of a dark, dark brown if you looked at them close enough). He nodded and managed a weak, "Okay."

Nico scowled, looking for a moment like he wanted to say something else, but he instead just sighed, anger rolling off his expression like a physical force (but no more shadows reacted to the expulsion of emotion, Will noted proudly). Nico leaned forward until his forehead just barely touched Will's, and his eyes fluttered closed, like the conversation had physically as well as emotionally exhausted him. Will closed his eyes as well, and for a few quiet moments they just stood there, touching each other in more intimate ways than they ever had.

Then, Nico stood up straight, and Will opened his eyes just in time to see his unreadable expression before the son of Hades spun on his heel and started towards the infirmary door. He paused just long enough to nod politely at Jason and Piper and roll his eyes at the frightened look Percy was giving him, before he left without another word.

Will almost went after him, before remembering that he'd been in the middle of healing a patient when all this started (and gods, Chiara had seen the whole thing- he did not want to know what the daughter of the goddess of luck had to say about his relationship problems). Trying to ignore the tingling in his arm and forehead where the cold of Nico's skin still lingered, Will reached for a new pair of surgical gloves and resumed caring for Chiara's arm, silently daring any of the other four demigods present to say a word.

After a few long minutes of silently working, Will spoke, addressing Percy, Jason, and Piper who still stood awkwardly by the door, but keeping his eyes trained on the magical glow coming from his totally-not-shaking-because-that-would-be-dangerous-and-unprofessional hands. "You were all wrong. Help me fix this."

They enlisted the help of the Hecate Cabin, and some old clothes of Percy's that he claimed could never be destroyed but wouldn't tell anyone the origins of, but most of the work came from Piper and her siblings' endless supply of fabric and the fact that being a doctor pretty much required Will to be able to sew.

Nico disappeared right after his and Will's almost-fight, leaving a note in the Apollo Cabin that claimed his dad needed him to run an errand for him, but that he'd be back as soon as he could, and as soon as Will saw the hastily-written message and the hesitancy of the words "I'll be back," a spike of fear clamped around his heart and refused to let go. He didn't think the message was lying, but he also very much caught the undertone of, And also I needed some time away from you.

So Will kept his focus on his work in the infirmary, and on his side-project/apology present, and tried not to think about what he could've done differently.

They finished the project in record time. As soon as it was complete, Will kept it constantly in his possession, so that the second Nico returned, Will could give it to him. Having something of theirs to hold in his hands helped him push away the part of his brain that whispered, "What if he never comes back?"

Because, as better as Nico had gotten over the last month at believing that he didn't need to run away from places, the logic behind that had always been because Will would always be there for him. They'd never talked about what to do if Will was who he was running away from.

Two days later (five days since the fight, the longest Will had gone without seeing Nico in a month), Will walked past the Hades Cabin and found the door hanging open, and his heart skipped a beat.

Will tightly clutched the garment bag Piper had wrapped their project in as he slowly approached the open doorway, trying to make his footsteps extra loud so he wouldn't startle the son of Hades inside.

He found Nico sitting on the closest bunk, Fall Out Boy t-shirt splattered in monster dust and a long but thin cut on his cheek. He looked up as Will entered and offered him that tiny ghost of a smile, which Will decided to take as a good sign.

"How was the…?" Will asked, gesturing ambiguously to represent the errands, jobs, favors Nico often did for Hades.

Nico shrugged minimally. "Good."

"And the shadow-traveling?"

Nico held up a hand. "Still solid," he confirmed, and Will let out a little laugh before stopping himself, not sure if they were okay enough to joke yet. Nico frowned. "Will-"

"I have something for you," Will interrupted, not wanting to know what Nico had been going to say. Nico's frown deepened in confusion, so Will held out the garment bag. "It's a, uh… a way to say sorry. For… not trusting you. And going behind your back. And for… not knowing what was wrong."

Nico gave him an annoyed look at that last one, but took the bag without saying anything, and undid the zipper. His eyes widened, and he pulled away the garment bag almost reverently, revealing the black leather bomber jacket lined with a thin layer of fur as dark as shadows.

"I know it's not the exact same as your old one," Will said hastily before Nico could react. "But the style's similar, and I knew you'd like the darker color. The lining is some kind of faux-hellhound fur that the Aphrodite Cabin uses for their sweat lodges, cause it's apparently super warm. And Lou Ellen enchanted the leather to be virtually indestructible, so another werewolf scratch to your arm should just bounce right off."

"Should," Nico repeated without taking his eyes off the jacket.

Will shrugged sheepishly. "No magic is perfect. She did her best."

For a few more minutes, Nico just stared at the gift, running his hands along the fur lining and fiddling with the zipper, while Will held his breath, praying to his father and Nico's father and every other god he could think of- every god but Cupid- that this would work.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Will, Nico looked up at him, and smiled an actual, normal-person smile. "Thank you, Will," he said softly. "I love it."

Will beamed, hurrying over to sit next to Nico on the bed, just close enough that their bodies didn't touch. But almost immediately, Nico pulled on his new jacket, zipped it up to his chin, and then snuggled into Will's side. Will couldn't keep a grin off his face as he put an arm around his boyfriend and held him close.

They sat there for a few minutes, and Will's smile slowly faded, though his happiness remained. "I'm glad you like it," he said into Nico's hair. "But Nico… next time, please just promise me you'll tell me when something's wrong? Instead of making me guess?" He managed a light chuckle. "Even if you're just cold, even if you don't think I should worry, or that there's nothing I can do to help, tell me anyway. Okay? Can you do that?"

Nico didn't answer right away, and Will involuntarily tensed, thinking he'd blown it again. Then, before he knew what was happening, Nico had pulled out of his embrace and grabbed at Will's arms with his ice-cold hands, and suddenly Nico di Angelo was closer to Will Solace than he'd ever been, and their lips met. The kiss was quick, and Nico's lips were just as cold as the rest of him. But when the son of Hades pulled away, Will immediately missed the warmth that had spread through him when their lips had touched.

"I promise," Nico said, his cheeks dusted red. "But you have to promise me something in return."

Will blinked and nodded, still a little stunned. "A-anything."

Nico smirked, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Don't you ever again talk to Percy and Jason before you talk to me."

A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review!