AN: It's origin story time! I was scrolling through my ancient archives of stupid fics I wrote, when I found this gem. I wrote it for my BF when she came back from a roller skating trip and begged me to write a fluff fic. 1. It might be a little cliche, but I hope it's good enough to make you smile. 2. I edited this all myself. There will be bugs. 3. I tried writing this in present tense instead of past, which I'm more accustomed to. Once again, there will be bugs.

4. VERY IMPORTANT READ THIS: It's an ongoing joke between me and the friend I wrote this for that instead of bleeping out a cuss word, we honk like a goose. I thought: Oh what the heck, I'll keep it K rated for once. So anytime you see the word HONK, feel free to replace it with any cuss word you want. Or the comical sound of an angry goose. :)

Yes. I'm weird like that.

Happy reading!

(o-O-o = flash back/flash forward.)

Five seconds after entering the building, Nico decides that he really hates roller skating, for a number of different reasons.

Reason Number 1: Putting on Roller Skates.

"Um, Nico? Maybe you should sit down…"

"I'm leaning against the wall Solace, I'll be fine."

"No, seriously Nico. That isn't safe."

"Ye Gods Solace, they're just shoes! I refuse to be defeated by sho-" BANG "(Insert very angry HONKS here.)"

"Told you so." You may ask why Nico has allowed himself to get dragged into agreeing to go to a rollerskating rink. Well, it started one day earlier...

o-O-o

"What in Hades are these Solace?" Nico stared at the large, deformed boots with wheels on them Will had just clunked down on his bed.

"They're roller skates!" Will chirped. "We're going skating!"

"No, we're not," Nico said bluntly, as he sat up and pushed the scuffed-up boots off of his blankets.

"Yes, we are! Since you refuse to ride a bike, or, as you put it, 'Get anywhere within five feet of that death trap-'"

"It's just not humanly possible to balance on something two inches wide!"

"And since it'll be several months before it gets cold enough for any lakes to freeze over so I can teach you how to ice skate, we're going roller skating." Nico sighed.

"Solace, why are you doing this to me?"

"It's a fundamental part of childhood to learn how to ride a bike!" Will proclaimed firmly, in such a way that Nico knew he would never get him to deter from this belief. "You never learned how to ride a bike Nico. You are incomplete. And you've probably never gone ice skating-"

"I have! Once," Nico said defensively. "Over seventy years ago."

"See? See? That doesn't count! Over seventy years ago doesn't count! So that leaves roller skating. I've already cleared it with Chiron, so you, me, Lou Ellen and Cecil are going to the rink tomorrow."

"No."

"Awww! But Niiico!" Will whined, giving Nico the pouty lip and the big blue puppy dog eyes. Nico tried to ignore the fluttering feeling in his stomach when Will gave him the big blue puppy dog eyes. Key word: Tried.

"No. I refuse to allow myself to be forced into a pair of shoes with wheels attached to them. That is the stupidest idea ever. Who even invented these things?" he questioned, nudging the roller skates with his foot.

"We'll go for gelato afterwards." Nico paused, considering.

"And Mc. Donalds for lunch?" Will wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Ugh. Please no."

"Please yes."

"What about Luigi's? It's this great Italian place downtown. It'll be a lot healthier than Mc. Donalds. But that's not saying much, anything's healthier than Mc. Donalds."

"I'll be the one to judge if the Italian food is real or not. Not that that means I'm going," he added.

"Of course not. But trust me, they're real. It's family owned, and the original Luigi, the current owner's great great grandfather, lived in Italy before he moved to New York and started his restaurant. It's got family recipes and everything. It HAS to be real." Nico smiled just a bit at Will's enthusiasm. The blonde seemed unconscious of how he bounced on the balls of his feet as he talked, like an excited child at Christmas.

"I'll consider it."

"What!? But Nico! Exercise is very important for a balanced lifestyle! Pleeeeeaaaase!?"

"I'm definitely not going if you're going to whine like a little kid."

"For me?"

"Absolutely not." Will pouted.

"Meany."

"Thank you, I try."

"I don't know what you have against trying new things."

"I try new things! Sometimes."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"Name one time you tried something new."

"Hmm…" Nico tilted his head, in contemplation. "I tried living at Camp instead of out on the streets. That counts."

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"It so does not!"

"Yes, it does!"

"Coming home to the place you've always been welcome does not count as trying something new!"

"It's a new lifestyle, it's close enough!"

"No it's not! You just don't like trying new things!"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't!"

"I do!"

"Fine then!" Will said with a triumphant grin. "You'll prove it by going roller skating with me!"

"Yes Solace, I- wait, what?"

"Too late! You already said yes!" Will raced for the door of the Hades cabin, calling, "I'll meet you under Thalia's tree at seven o'clock Friday, nice and early. See you later Death Boy!" over his shoulder. And then he was gone. Nico sat there with his mouth agape for a few seconds, processing what had just happened.

"SOLACE!"

o-O-o

Reason Number 2: Percy and Jason.

Despite all of Nico's protests, complaints, and threats, Percy and Jason are now tagging along with their respective girlfriends. Nico wouldn't mind hanging out so much if it wasn't for the fact that they're watching him and Will like hawks, waiting for something, anything to happen...

o-O-o

"WILL ASKED YOU OUT ON A DATE!?" Nico winced at the sheer volume in his cousin's voice.

"No he didn't! Jeez Jason, just scream it to the world why don't you?"

"WILL SOLACE! ASKED! YOU! OUT! ON! A! DATE!"

"No. He. Did. Not."

"YES HE DID!" Jason screamed, laughing hysterically.

"Jason, he didn't. It's not a date, Lou Ellen and Cecil will be there."

"So it's a double date!"

"No it's not. Lou and Ceil are just friends. Just like me and Will are just friends. There was never any mention of dating. Ever. At all. So sorry to disappoint you, Grace."

"What's this about dating?" Piper asked as she strode through the doors of Cabin 1.

"Nothing."

"WILL ASKED NICO ON A DATE!" Nico groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"NO HE DIDN'T JASON."

"So did he or didn't he?" Piper asked.

"He so totally did!"

"Not! He did not!"

"Except Nico won't admit it!"

"I can't say I'm surprised," Piper said with a smug smile. She sat down on the lower bunk next to Nico while Jason dangled from the upper one. "It's been two whole weeks with you two dancing around each other like daisies."

"Two weeks of absolute TORTURE!" Nico protested, getting up off the bed and pacing madly. "First there was stupid Solace with that ridiculous infirmary stay; then Percy decided to tell THE WHOLE HONKING Camp he's not my type-"

"And now every one except Will knows your gay," Jason sing-songed.

"Because Will says he's not going to judge you based off of insubstantial rumors and gossip," Piper finished for him. "Trust me, just about my entire cabin has interrogated him on this." Nico couldn't help but smile, partially from the mental image of Will being cornered by half a dozen gossip-starved Aphrodite campers, but also because that seemed like exactly the kind of thing he would say. Nico subconsciously added this to his ever growing list of reasons as to why Will Solace was just freaking amazing.

"I personally think he's just trying not to get his hopes up in case you turn out to be straight," Jason muttered sullenly. "Which he shouldn't. Because you're not." It was then that Nico realized he was supposed to be ranting about how awful the last two weeks have been, so he stopped smiling.

"Quit interrupting me guys, I'm in the middle of a rant. So now practically EVERYONE at Camp is shipping us-"

"MY OTP!"

"Shut UP Jason! I swear Piper, if your cabin mates try locking us in a small enclosed space ONE MORE TIME-"

"You know, they'd stop bothering you if you'd just kiss him already."

"Absolutely not! Out of the question! And then there's the fact in itself that I keep getting locked up in small enclosed spaces with dorky Will Solace and his infuriating grin and his annoying optimism and stupidly adorable dazzling blue eyes and his fascinating sprinkling of freckles and, and…" Nico trailed off when he saw Piper sniggering and Jason hyperventilating. "HONK. I just said that, didn't I? HONK! What the HONK is WRONG WITH ME?! I sound like a gods-damned middle school girl! And to top it all off, by the gods, I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM! WHY CAN'T I STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM!?"

"Because you're in loooooooove!" Jason drawled.

"SHUT UP JASON! I'm not asking you! Piper, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this Nico," Piper said, not looking at all sorry. "But my boyfriend's right. You've got it really, really bad." Nico sat back down and buried his face in his hands again.

"HONK. Whyyyyyy. Meeeeeeeeee? Ye Gods, whyyyy meeee? Hasn't Cupid tortured me enough already?"

"You're being overly dramatic Nico," Piper said in a reassuring manner. "Honestly, crushes aren't tortuous. It's nothing to beat yourself up over or be embarrassed about." The glare Nico gave her made Piper blanch and a small squeaking noise escaped the back of her throat.

"NOT the right thing to say to him Pipes! Sorry Neeks, you know she doesn't know about your bad experience with her step-brother," Jason rambled, in a desperate attempt to save his girlfriend from his cousin's wrath. Nico just sighed and fell back on the bed muttering about how the fates love laughing at him, the world must hate him, and cupid is a total HONK.

"Bad experience with my step-brother…?" Piper questioned. "What are you-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Nico's frigid tone left no room for arguments.

"Right. No talking. Got it."

"Okay," Jason said, floating down from his bed. "It's a double date then!"

"It's not a double date Jason. It's not even a date."

"You can deny it's a date all you want, it won't matter. It'll still be a double date, because me and Pipes are coming along!"

"NO YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT! Besides, Lou Ellen and Cecil aren't dating either! It can't be a double date without two couples, and they don't qualify."

"Oh fine. You four can deny your date-ability, but it will still be a double date because…" Jason's tone took on a sinister air. His glasses reflected the light and concealed his eyes, which gave his grin a more maniacal appearance than the goofy-fanboy look he usually wore when discussing his cousin's love life. "I'm calling in…" Then he ran out of his cabin screaming, "PEERRRCCCAAABEEETTTHHH!" and Nico raced after him, brandishing his sword and shouting,

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I REFUSE TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU BREATHING DOWN MY NECK AS I MAKE A FOOL OF MYSELF IN SHOES WITH WHEELS ON THEM! JASON GRACE GET BACK HERE!" Piper shook her head with a smile.

"Boys. They're such idiots at times, but you gotta love them."

o-O-o

Reason Number 3: The Floor.

The floor is an absolute mess, no matter which part of the building you go to. In the skate rental section, it's a stained shaggy carpet that might once have been a nice, cheerful shade of green adorned with brightly colored geometric shapes. But now it's just barf inducing. And it reeks. The owners will probably never be able get that skunk's-foot smell out of it, no matter how much they wash it. If you go outside of the rental area, you find the arcade/food court, and the floor there is disgustingly sticky from Gods know how many sodas, corn dogs, and you-don't-even-want-to-think-about-its that were spilled and stomped on and never cleaned up properly. And don't even bother going anywhere near the bathroom. Possibly the only relatively decent floor is the rink itself. But that doesn't count, because it's worn down from years of wheels racing across it, and it vibrates from the hum of roller blades going by at dangerous velocity, and if you step out onto it you're more than likely to get knocked flat by a speeding, out-of-control skater.

Reason: Number 4: The Noise.

The, 'Worst Noise at the Skating Rink,' award undoubtedly goes to the top 40's pop music blaring from the speakers throughout the building. Listening to Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber's questionable voices clashing with the clatter of roller skates is enough to drive anyone mad. But there are plenty of runner ups. Like the screaming babies and children throwing tantrums because of their sore feet. Or the cacophony of noises from the food court. The sizzle of fried food, the clunky rattling of vending machines and soda fountains and ice cream dispensers, the hum of the pizza and pretzel heaters, they all mingle to make a headache-inducing soundtrack. And that's if you ignore the arcade. The BLOOP-BLEEPS, and PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW's; the FWHOOMS! and 'Count with me! One alligator, two alligators, three alligators,' 'Let's boogie!' 'SQUEAK!' 'BANG BANG BANG BANG' 'GAME OVER' 'Let's do the hokey pokey! You put your left arm in you put your left arm out you put your left arm in and you shake it-' Gods, Nico thinks, banging his head against a wall. Please, just kill me now.

Number 5: The Lights.

The lighting in this place is terrible. The only place that's relatively well lit is the rink. Probably because it has to be, so no one sues the company that owns the place if they get injured because they can't see where they're going. But even that has a glittering disco ball sending blinding sparkles of colorful light everywhere, and strobe lights that would surely give people seizures if it was any darker squat at the edges of the rink. The rest of the building is only seen through various shades of glowing neon, blacklight, acidic colored bulbs, and video game screens. All in all, the combination of the disgusting surfaces, the annoying cousins, the horrendous noise, and the lights that are determined to make sure you can't see anything clearly would be enough to make anyone want to get up and walk right out of there. Except you can't, because you're wearing stupid roller skates you can't even walk in. If it wasn't for Will, Nico might very well have been close to killing something.

-O-

"Come on Nico, we came here to skate, not sit around!"

"I cannot skate Will."

"Sure you can! You just need to learn."

"No."

"Yes! It's not that hard, you'll have it down in no time."

"No." Nico glares up from the cheap plastic booth he'd tripped and fallen into. He hasn't bothered to attempt walking since then. "I'm going to sit here and sip a root beer float while I watch you go round and round in circles incessantly for the next three hours. Have fun looking like an idiot."

"Oh come on Nico, don't be like that! Root beer is terrible for your teeth, you'll have cavities in no time."

"Really Will? You're worried about me getting cavities? Toothbrushes weren't even invented until the end of the nineteen thirties, I brush more frequently now than I ever did. I'll be fine. Go, have fun. Crash into walls. Rebound off mats. Play PAC man. I don't care. Just leave me here to sulk in peace."

"Nuh-uh Death Boy," Will says, grabbing Nico's arms and pulling him out of the booth. "You're having fun and that's that. Doctor's orders." Nico scrambles for footing, failing almost immediately. He clings desperately to the table in order to prevent himself from landing flat on his back on the sticky floor.

"NO! Please Will, just let me be! All I want to do is sit here and watch the others skate. See, look at Percy! He's terrified, it's hilarious." Indeed, Percy is slipping around and has Annabeth's shoulders in a choke hold. Annabeth rolls her eyes, throws his arms off her, and skates away with superior confidence and grace.

"NOOOO ANNABETH DON'T LEAVE ME!" In less than a second, the glorious savior of Olympus lands squarely on his tailbone with a high-pitched yelp.

"See? Fun." Will shakes his head and pulls Nico to his feet.

"Come on Death Boy. This way."

"Noooooo stop stop stop stop stop!" Nico realizes why Percy was relying so heavily on his girlfriend. He has to fling his arms around Will's neck just to prevent himself from falling over. Then he buries his face in Will's shoulder, a) For the extra balance, b) So Will won't see his burning face, and c) Because some crazy impulsive part of him he rarely listens to wants to.

Will helps Nico regain his balance with a grin.

"You can do it Nico. Baby steps, see? Just move your skates forward an inch at a time." Slowly, the passive healer guides the highly coordinated and skilled warrior of bad-assery out of the food court. Until they reached an insurmountable obstacle.

"Stairs," Nico says with a groan. "Who puts stairs in a place like this?"

"Nico, it's only two steps down."

"Still." Will hops, hops, down the steps and turns around with ease, all with only one hand on the railing. One hand. He reaches out and tugs on the sleeves of Nico's new jacket.

"You can do it. I'll catch you if you slip." Nico tries placing his skate on the next step down, grumbling all the way. Of course he slips. Two seconds later, he finds himself relying entirely on the arms wrapped around his waist to stand upright. His face is less than an inch from Will's shirt, and this fact alone is enough to efficiently stop his heart.

From the rink, Cecil wolf-whistles as he zips by. Jason fist pumps, almost making him and a laughing Piper go sprawling across the wooden planks. Nico finds that he's able to grant the terrible lighting one redeeming factor: It makes it harder for anyone to see how red his cheeks are. "I'm going to kill them," he mutters. He can feel the vibrations of Will's laughter through his shirt, and tries desperately not to think of how he would be perfectly happy to never move out of this position for the rest of his life.

"This way," Will starts pulling him in the direction of the rink, and Nico, unable to even control where his feet are going, is unable to resist.

"No, please Will! I don't want to skate! I don't even know why I let you drag me into this!"

"Because you said you like trying new things." Nico opens his mouth to protest, then shuts it again when he realizes he'll be a hypocrite if he does.

"Git." Will laughs.

"Skating's not that bad, you'll see. Here, one more step up onto the rink."

"Noooooooooopleaseno."

"Yeeeeeees. This way. Come on Death Boy, don't be stubborn. Do you want me to get Jason and Percy to come help me?" Nico immediately, if reluctantly, steps onto the rink. Will grabs his hands - which still sends jolts of electricity zinging through his nerves even after two weeks of being around the blonde - and starts pulling him along as he skates backwards. HONKing backwards.

Show off, Nico's short circuited brain manages to spit out.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Just relax and enjoy the ride. Could you put a bit more weight on your left foot when we reach that corner? It'll help me steer you." Nico obliges, acutely aware of how warm Will's hands are, and immensely grateful that the blonde is too busy looking over his shoulder to notice him blushing. But then again, he hasn't really not been blushing for the past five minutes, hasn't he? Jason is going to have an absolute field day…

-Will's POV-

"I think I've got it now."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you have to move your foot out as you move it forward, like this…" Nico attempts to do so, but he moves his skate too much to the left and his wheels abruptly screech to a halt. He goes down, taking Will (who hasn't let go of his hands, why should he?) with him. Will finds himself lying on top of the son of Hades in the middle of the skating rink.

"Nico, are you okay?" he says, but Gods, he just can't stop grinning. Okay, so maybe Will planned the trip to the rink as a sneaky excuse to hold Nico's hands. Could you blame him? But he'd never expected Nico to be this flustered and klutzy when it came to rollerskating. The Son of Hades was great at just about everything else. Like killing monsters, summoning zombies, scaling the lava wall, and capturing the flag. (All of which he could totally beat Will at without even trying. It seemed to come as naturally to him as breathing.) Will had seen him do a back handspring during training once... Gods. He was flexible as HONK.

"Yeah, 'm fine," Nico mutters, his cheeks blossoming a faint rose color that only emphasizes how pale he is. Will taps him on the tip of his nose with his index finger.

"Have I mentioned that you're adorable when you blush?" Oops. He should really work on his impulse control.

"Get off of me Solace." Will rolls aside and manages to get into a crouching position without falling flat on his face. He instinctively offers a hand to help Nico up, but suddenly having your center of balance shift around when you're on roller skates doesn't work very well, and they both fall down again.

"Need some help?" Lou Ellen asks, stopping almost perfectly due to her mist-layered boots. Cecil is less coordinated, and he has to backtrack several times to get himself to where his friends are sprawled on the floor. Together, the two of them manage to help Will and Nico crawl, slip, and stagger over to the wall, where they haul themselves upright at last, panting heavily, their dignity completely shredded. Will looks at Nico. Nico looks at Will. Cecil looks at Lou Ellen. Lou Ellen glances at Cecil. Nico and Will look at Lou Ellen and Cecil.

And then they all burst out laughing.

-O-

"I'll be your light, your match, your burning sun, I'll be the bright, in black that's makin' you run…"

"Finally," Nico mutters. "A song that doesn't make my ears weep, bleed, and beg for mercy." Will grins and immediately launches into his strangled cat version of,

"But I got a blank space baaabbyyy-"

"NO! Don't even go there Solace, that's so not funny!" Will laughs and contents himself with humming along to Love Runs Out. But if Nico thinks Will can't hear him singing softly under his breath, he's sorely mistaken.

"...And we'll start a fire, and we'll shut it down, 'Til the love runs out, 'til the love runs out…"

-O-

Will has to agree with Nico on one thing. It is incredibly amusing to observe all the demigods on roller skates.

Percy has gotten slightly better during the past hour, but he's still woefully uncoordinated. Annabeth is a natural, and it's a good thing she doesn't mind having to constantly pick her boyfriend up off the floor.

Piper and Jason are both clumsy, but they're clearly having fun holding hands and stumbling around the rink. Oh, and they'll stalk Nico constantly whenever Will is within five feet of him. Well, at least Jason does. Piper is more than willing to follow his lead. One of the many reasons Will hasn't yet worked up the nerve to ask his crush out is that he knows he'll have to somehow survive the, 'If-you-break-his-heart-you-shall-meet-a-very-very-unfortunate-end,' speech from every single one of Nico's overprotective friends and family members. The thought is terrifying to say the least.

Lou Ellen is almost as good as Annabeth, even if she's assisted by her mist shrouded skates. Cecil has finally given up racing against her after at least fifty-four solid defeats in a row. Both he and Will are currently sitting in the food court sipping lemonade and chatting aimlessly, resting their aching feet. And paying very close attention to their respective crushes.

Nico has finally figured out how to skate on his own, (something Will is only mildly disappointed with,) and is happily going round and round in circles incessantly with the smallest traces of a smile on his lips. This only reassures Will's opinion that it was a stroke of pure genius to bring Nico roller skating, no matter how much the Son of Hades complained about it.

A microphone squeals to life from the corner of the rink.

"Hellooooo skaters!" the announcer exclaims with cheesy enthusiasm, adjusting the microphone's frequency so it doesn't squeak quite so much. "Yes, it's that time of day again. Or should I say night? As I'm sure you know, on Friday afternoons from two-thirty to three-thirty PM, and from six to nine in the evenings, it's blackout time! All of your wristbands will glow in the dark, but we ask that everyone please grab a glow stick for safety. You can find them at the desk where you redeem your arcade tickets. Thank you everybody. Stay safe, have fun, and skate on!" People start flooding out of the rink to head to the arcade. Will gets up as well, scanning the crowd for Nico. But with all the bobbing heads and mingling bodies, he loses track of the small Italian boy almost immediately. Will shrugs. Oh well, he can always find him later…

-O-

Or not.

It's pitch black in the building. There were no windows to begin with, so the only light comes from the arcade and the stream of glow sticks. Even the disco ball and strobe lights are cut off. Will skates in slow circles, scanning the rink for Nico. It shouldn't be this hard, he's supposed to be wearing a glow stick… But Will wouldn't put it past Nico to ignore the safety rules. Idiot. Stupid Death Boy. Moronic, adorable, dense, ridiculously attractive little-

Something rams into Will's back, hard, and he's abruptly knocked off his feet, lying sideways on the floor with someone on top of him.

"Sorry! Oh Gods, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I-" Will holds up his yellow glow stick to reveal a mortified and rambling Nico. "Will?"

"You know, we seem to be getting into this situation a lot lately." Nico laughs a little helplessly, but Will couldn't think of a more beautiful sound if every single musically gifted child of Apollo were singing the Hallelujah chorus in five part harmony. He gets the crazy urge to tell Nico this. He gets the crazy urge to tell Nico everything about how he feels for him. He gets that urge at least five times a day. He wants to tell Nico that he's amazing and courageous and so much stronger than anyone he knows. He wants to tell him how much he can appreciate everything he's gone through, because it's given him such a solid understanding of life and death and what people should live for. He wants to tell him that he wants to be the one to help him. To heal him. He desperately wants to tell Nico just how head-over-heels he is for him. How, (even though this is crazy, because they're just thirteen and what does Will know?) maybe even he's in love with him.

"You're supposed to be wearing a glow stick." Will winces. He can practically hear Piper's siblings mocking him. (So eloquent Will, such a heartfelt declaration. You're supposed to be wearing a glow stick... YOU HONKING IDIOT!) Nico scowls and says,

"I don't like glow sticks. They're bright and colorful. Since when have I been known to like anything bright and colorful?" Will smiles and unties the triple-wrapped string on his wrist that's holding his glow stick in place, and drapes it around Nico's neck.

"Safety first Death Boy. And just to prove you wrong, I'll have you know that I've been described as bright and colorful on numerous occasions, and you like me, right?" Unfortunately, Will never gets to hear Nico's answer because just then someone trips over both of them with a "GACK!" and lands on top of them with an "OOPH-"

"JASON!" Nico shrieks. "Get the HONK off of me!"

"Nico? And is that Will? What are you two doing on the floor? Wait…"

"I slammed into him, it was an accident!"

"What are you two doing? On the floor? In the dark?" he asks teasingly. "Are you sure it was an accident?"

"JASON GRACE I AM GOING TO HONKING KILL YOU!"

-Nico's POV-

Nico has to agree with Will on one thing. Roller skating should be a fundamental part of everyone's childhood.

It's like walking, except it's not. It's so much better. When you use your feet to get around, you can only ever get up to a bit over ten miles per hour, and that's if you run. But running for prolonged periods of time takes a lot of stamina and energy. Skating can get you around way faster than running, and it doesn't even require very much more energy than walking.

There's a kind of rhythm to it. Knees bent, center of gravity low, glide one foot forward, then the other. And again. Then your arms are moving as well, to keep you better balanced, and your feet find a steady rhythm. Skate skate skate skate skate... Then, before you know it, the wind's whipping back your hair and you're leaning into it and you're moving so fast you're practically flying.

That's where Nico finds himself now. A huge grin spreads across his face as he speeds by Percy and Annabeth and Piper and Jason, and there's this feeling of elation, of invincibility, that comes from going so fast simply by moving your feet a little bit forward and a little bit sideways. He can feel a wild, childish laugh building inside him, the kind of laughter he hasn't had since before Bianca's death. But right before it breaks free, a very important fact occurs to him.

"Wait. How am I supposed to stop!?" he shouts. Cecil cackles as Nico zooms by and says,

"You don't! You just crash into a wall!"

"WHAT!?" Nico turns his head to look back at Cecil, and this is a very bad idea. His feet automatically adjust with his body posture, steering him to the right. Nico looks forward again and realizes he doesn't have enough time to correct his course and make the turn. The padded wall looms ahead of him, looking very hard. "AAUUUUGGGHHHHHH!"

-O-

"Nico? Nico, are you alright?" He looks up, dazed, disorientated and dizzy, and there's Will. Will with his bright blue eyes filled with concern. Will with his golden hair glittering from the little specks of light that damned disco ball is throwing off. Will with his wonderful laugh and gorgeous smile and the way he'll focus on you so completely, it's as if you're the only person in the whole world. Will and how he makes Nico feel like he matters, like he's something truly special, like he's forgiven for all of the stupid, idiotic, and horrible things he's done.

Nico's heart skip several beats. And then he realizes that Jason and Piper are right. He has it really, really bad. In this moment, he might even begin to consider the absurd possibility that he's just a little bit in love.

Gods, damn it all.

-Will's POV-

Nico sits up, groaning and rubbing his head.

"Ow." Will laughs and kneels down on the ground beside him.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Solace."

"You sure? Nothing hurts?" he says, running a hand through Nico's hair, feeling for a bump where he whacked his head. "You slammed into that wall pretty fast."

"You don't think I know that? Help me up."

"Not a good idea. You should take it easy for a few minutes, you might have a concussion."

"Help me up Solace, or I'll try getting up myself." Will helps Nico stand, using the offending wall for support.

"You're probably covered in bruises. I'm doing a full checkup when we get back." But Nico's too busy glaring at his roller skates to complain.

"I am going to master these stupid shoes."

"Nico, you should really stop. Just for a few minutes."

"No. I am doing this Will, concussion or no concussion. Don't try to stop me." And then he skates off with new-found determination before Will can say a single word. He hesitates, but lets him go. He smiles just a bit, remembering the feeling of Nico's silky hair running through his fingers.

-O-

"Do you think we should stop him?" All the demigods are sitting around the table, watching Nico.

He's zooming around the rink faster than anyone else. He makes pin hair turns and spins, using the walls to his advantage, rebounding off of them instead of crashing. He's trying all kinds of insane tricks, somersaults and rolls, even bringing his sword into the equation. The mist prevents any of the mortals from seeing it, so he slashes and jabs and slices at imaginary enemies. He's good. Really good.

"Ooooh! That's gotta hurt!"

"Ouch!" But he still crashes occasionally, whenever he tries something too extreme. Like a flip. What kind of idiot even attempts to do a flip in roller skates?!

He picks himself up off the floor, shakes his head, and starts skating again.

"That stubborn little shist," Jason mutters. "Why is he doing this?"

"He's obsessed," Annabeth replies. "He wants to prove to himself that he can master this skill in any kind of situation."

"It's insane," Jason states. They watch Nico do a simultaneous jump and spinning slash, land perfectly, and keep skating.

"Should we stop him?" Percy asks again.

"...Nah. If he wants to break his ankles, let him go ahead and do it. Will can always patch him up again afterwards."

-O-

Will waves the possessed skater over to the edge of the rink. Nico sees him, and screeches to a stop in front of him perfectly, without even using the wall.

"Hey," Will says in greeting, handing Nico a glass of water. "Remember to stay hydrated."

"Thanks," Nico pants, pushing an errant lock of damp hair out of his eyes. He grabs the glass and starts gulping it down.

"Sip it slowly," Will nags. "You'll upset your stomach if you gulp down water after a lot of exercise." Nico nods and starts drinking at a more measured pace. "So, are you having fun?" He finishes the water and sets the glass down on the foot-wide-wall, then jumps up and perches on it himself.

"You know, the weird thing is, I am. I'm hot, I'm sweaty, and I probably stink like a pig. My ankles are killing me, my feet are blistering, everything hurts, and I swear to the Gods, if I have to listen to one more pop song my head might just split open. But… I am," he says, turning around to face Will. "This is really, really fun." And then he smiles. It's not an amused smile. It's not a creepy smile. It's not a sarcastic or an ironic or a well-isn't-that-just-typical smile. It's a real, honest smile. An expression of joy.

Will's mind simultaneously short circuits and immediately starts going through a hundred different crazy scenarios that might make Nico smile. He knows he would do anything to get Nico to give him that expression again. He would roll down a hill in a hamster ball full of glue and feathers and glitter. He would slingshot himself across the lake. He would tie-dye his hair pink and purple. He'd tell every single bad pun or stupid joke known to mankind. It would all be worth it if he could simply be the cause of one of those wonderful grins. Because when Nico smiles, it transforms his whole face. He no longer looks like the war haggard demigod who's seen far too much far too soon. He's no longer someone with ghosts and regrets behind his eyes. He's exactly who he's supposed to be: A happy, carefree thirteen year old boy who's having fun with his friends and not worrying about if he's going to die tomorrow. Who wouldn't do anything for that?

-Nico's POV-

Solace's grin just about blinds Nico, and that crazy impulsive yet still annoyingly truthful deep-down part of him can't help but think that blindness would be a form of punishment that's more than fair if he can make Will Solace happy. He wouldn't complain at all if Will's smile was the last thing he ever saw.

-Narrator's POV-

Two boys smiled at each other, one of darkness, and one of light. By all logical means, any form of relationship between their conflicting personalities should have been impossible. If you went by different examples of such extremes: Fire and Ice, Good and Evil, you would expect them to be locked in constant combat, tearing each other apart. Or perhaps they would be more like the opposite sides of a magnet; both pulling as hard as they can in different directions, but never getting anywhere. No, that's not the best way to describe them. If you want a good analogy for these two boys, reader, I would prefer that you think of night and day.

They are as different as can be. One represents light and joy, warmth, growth and healing. The other shadows and the cool peace of darkness, the hope for a better tomorrow. But despite all their differences, night and day have found a cosmic balance over time. The moon makes way for the rise of a new dawn; the sun sets to give us those dark, restful hours. They are constantly pulling and pushing, in perfect rhythm of each other, and somehow, miraculously, working together. They create a cycle every single living organism on earth could not live without.

Perhaps, dear reader, you think I am blowing this all out of proportion. Perhaps you would look at these boys and think that's it not such a tiny miracle that two people so different could give each other a glance, and a smile, and fall a little bit in love. But I would like to think not. I would like to think that I don't need to tell you that it's the tiny miracles we should appreciate when we're lucky enough to find them. I would like to hope that you already know, it's the tiny miracles that matter most.

-O-

The moment is effectively ruined when the far wall of the rink detonates in a grand explosion, sending shrapnel of plaster and concrete flying everywhere. Because did you really expect eight powerful demigods to get away with staying stationary in the middle of a highly populated area for almost three hours without a single monster attack?

THE END.