I just finished Blood of Olympus and I had to get this out. Trying something new!

-BLOOD OF OLYMPUS SPOILERS-

Nico let out the breath he'd been holding. Will Solace, noticing his shaking, looked over in concern. "Hey, kid. You alright?"

"Nn- yes," Nico replied. "I- I just-" He couldn't finish his sentence.

Will had a keen eye. "Everything good with Percy? I just saw you talking to him."

Nico looked away. "Yes, actually, it's great." With Percy, not with you. He felt like thousands of souls from the fields of Asphodel were whirling inside him. Why was Will Solace, of all people, making him nervous? Nico glanced up. Will was looking at him strangely. "What?" He realized Will had asked a question. "Oh, uh, sure," he said, not knowing what he had agreed to.

Will grinned, half a smirk, lighting up his face. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, and Nico suddenly became self-conscious. He didn't know when was the last time he had seen a mirror. "So you'll help me with the infirmary, starting now!"

Nico slowly nodded, thinking about what that meant. He would spend days alone with Will Solace. He unconsciously clenched his fists and began breathing faster.

"Whoa, calm down, sunshine," laughed Will. Nico gave him a death glare straight from Hades.

Over the next few days, Nico helped with mundane tasks, simple enough for anyone, but he lingered around, occasionally making awkward eye contact with Will. Tending to a patient with a wounded shoulder, Will called Nico over to help him. "Could you hold the bandage in place?" Nico took it out of Will's hand, brushing it by accident with his own. Nico froze. He dropped the bandage and stepped back. "Don't be nervous," mumbled Will. He grabbed Nico by the hand and pushed the bandage into it, curling his own fingers around Nico's fist for a moment. Nico's insides exploded. He felt jittery as if he had drunk far too much nectar, mixed with an extra-caffinated Starbucks drink.

When Will finished with the patient, Nico couldn't bear to wait any longer. "Will?" he asked hesitantly.

"Mhm?" answered the golden-haired boy. He grinned again. He seemed to do that a lot around Nico.

"I…" Nico immediately thought of everything that could go wrong. But Will.. he seemed to be different. Certainly different from Percy. But with Percy he could just tell him straight up. "Will, has there ever been someone you liked and you finally got the courage to tell them?"

He thought for a moment. "Well, I guess so. But is the great Nico di Angelo coming to me for relationship advice?"

"That's what I was talking to Percy about. I like- I used to like hi- someone- I used to like Percy, okay?!" Nico's voice rose until it cracked, and he buried his face in his hands and ran out of the infirmary.

When he reached the Hades cabin, he collapsed onto the bed and clapped his hands over his eyes. A single tear pushed its way past his cupped hands and down his cheekbone. Then a barrage of salt water poured down his face, streaming from the corners of his eyes. His body became more shadowy, threatening to fade back into the Underworld.

What was an eternity for Nico, in reality was only a few minutes for Will. He stood there, confused for a second, then dashed outside after Nico. "Where'd he go?" he shouted at Percy.

"His cabin, I think, but he looked upset, man. You might want to give him time to cool off." Will, ignoring Percy's warning, continued on toward the Hades cabin. He knocked a few times with no response. Will slowly pushed open the door.

"Nico?" he called. He glanced around, and saw Nico on the bed, facing away from him. "Nico, it's alright, honestly. I know you're the same person. I don't care."

Nico slowly turned around, and Will saw the streaks down his face. He whispered, "But what if I want you to care?"

Will's eyes widened. "Nico, do you like me?" Nico opened his mouth and then closed it, swallowing. "Nico, please, tell me." The son of Hades looked like death, but he nodded, slowly.

Will immediately wrapped his arms around Nico and sat on the bed next to him, reaching his hand towards Nico's, and before Nico could tell, touching it, and they were holding hands. Will moved his mouth close to Nico's ear and whispered back, "I like you too." They sat, intertwined, for a while, before Nico's breathing went from his jagged breaths back to normal, and then they stood up, keeping their hands locked together, and walked outside, not caring who saw.

to be continued