Will anxiously stared at the boy in front of him. The words had escaped from his mouth before he even knew what was going on. Now as Nico cocked his head in that adorable way of his and frowned, his stomach sank.

"Sure."

Nico di Angelo was really hard to read. It was December and his mother had said that he was allowed to invite a friend over. She was inviting a whole bunch of family members he didn't know, and after an hour of insistent whining she had finally agreed that he could bring a friend over. Ecstatic, he had asked Nico to come with him.

And surprisingly, he had said yes.

Now a week later and standing before the son of Hades, he was more nervous than ever. The idiot was dressed in a black Pierce the Veil T-shirt and equally glum skinny jeans. Adorning his wrists, was an impressive collection of more depressing and possibly satanic band merchandise. Nico looked really out of place with the lightly falling snow outside and the brightly adorned bushes.

Almost immediately, the doctor in him took over.

"Nico! Where's your jacket? And the T-shirt, seriously? You're going to catch hour death out here." Will hurriedly pulled him inside. He staggered in.

"Umm… sorry?" he then awkwardly pushed something into Will's hands. "Merry Christmas." He grumbled.

Will glanced at the poorly wrapped package in his hands and grinned.

"Thanks! Oh and, you sound like the Grinch. Lighten up."

He rolled his eyes.

"Will, honey…is that your uncle Pellinore?" A woman's voice called from the kitchen.

"No mom, it's Nico."

Nico fidgeted nervously as a woman stepped out. There was an old, homey décor and the smell of freshly baked pie wafted out pleasantly. Will's mom looked as if she'd just stepped out of a picture, right along with the sprig of mistletoe above her head. She had soft light brown locks and was currently wearing an apron and a surprised smile on her face. Everything about her seemed soft. Her eyes were also a rich brown which sparkled with joy as she enveloped Nico in a warm hug.

"Oh, hello! You're the boy that will can't stop talking about! How very nice to meet you." She held him out at arm's length, her grin radiating just as brightly as Will's.

"MOM." Will groaned.

"Uh… hello." Nico mumbled, looking stiff as a board. "Nice to meet you too, Miss… Mrs.…Solace."

"Well you boys run along, Will remember to be nice to Henry. He is to be your brother in a couple of months!" She grinned as if this was spectacular news while Will grimaced.

"Oh…um, sure."

Nico hesitantly followed Will into his room. In truth, he felt a bit awkward about the whole affair. He recognized the slight hitch in his breath, the accelerated speed of his pulse, the sweaty palms and aching stomach. He had a crush on Will Solace. And it hurt. It hurt badly. He probably didn't even like guys…and if he did, why would he like Nico? He remembered when he was 5 or 6, how he had innocently given a flower to another boy his age. He didn't remember his name now, but he did remember how disgust had curdled his features and how he had swatted the flower away and promptly punched Nico in the face. The bitter feeling of rejection had stayed long after he'd stopped crying, and that feeling had gradually turned into fear.

But now he had learned how to protect himself. How to build walls around his heart, how to push people away and disappear when need be. For years he had avoided falling and shattering...surely this annoyingly sweet boy wouldn't be the bomb to knock over those walls.

"Nico? Hellooo?"

Nico blinked as Will waved his hand in front of his face. He flinched back. "Um...what?"

A teasing smirk danced on the other boy's lips and Nico flushed.

"I said…do you want to play a game? The rest of my family won't come until later."

Nico settled down next to him as Will plopped onto the floor. The past few weeks had been a bit awkward between them so Nico had been surprised when Will had asked him over. There had been once, where Nico had spotted Will coming over and felt a rush of emotions when Percy had carelessly taken Will's arm and said loudly, "Careful! You're probably not his type!" Nico had restrained himself from digging a hole and jumping in.

"Sure."

"M'kay." Will began turning on his console.

Nico loved the way he said that, the slight hum before the actual word, and the almost girly twang that vibrated with the 'y'.

"Have you played HALO? 3?" Those beautiful eyes turned toward him, holding a CD in his hands.

Nico hesitated. He had, indeed, played before. Only Jason had said that he was a bit competitive. He didn't want to embarrass himself In front of Will. But he loved playing…he gave in.

Mere minutes later, Will stared at Nico with an expression full of awe and something close to fear. He would have never guessed it, but Nico was an expert player. Ten times better than Will was. The son of Hades leaned intently towards the screen, knuckles tight, brow furrowed in concentration. He flinched at every wound he suffered, as If he was physically feeling the pain. And from his delicate lips flowed a colorful string of words that would have made a sailor blush.

"Will? Where are you?" He hissed.

Will was fighting an inner battle... But the basic instinct of survival broke through.

"Nico…please forgive me." Will whispered dramatically.

Nico's eyes widened just as Will pressed the left trigger on his controller. A look of pure horror flashed across Nico's face just as the screen was illuminated by a blinding white light. The words, GAME OVER floated above the lower half of the screen as Will began laughing. The controller fell out of Nico's hands as he turned towards Will, incredulous.

"B-But… we're on the same team!" he sputtered.

"You were attracting the enemy. Sorry."

"Sorry?" Nico's face had turned an unhealthy shade of red. "You killed me! To save yourself! You're…Y-You're…"

Apparently he couldn't find a word bad enough to describe the utter atrocity that Will had committed, his hysterical laughter wasn't helping much either, and so he grabbed a cushion and whacked him straight in the face. His laughter died abruptly and he shoved Nico away. Nico playfully shoved him back.

"You're going down, Solace."

The slight boy pounced on Will. He laughed, wrestling him off and delivering a gentle blow on his torso. The son of Hades fell, landing hard on the other boy. His hips fit snugly in the valley of Will's legs and he placed an arm on Will's chest, a triumphant smirk on his face.

Will froze. He was thin, abnormally so, his bones jutting out and were digging into his skin. But his eyes sparkled playfully, a smirk shining on his lips and he was transformed. The normally scowling boy wore a genuine smile on his face. It was like something in Will snapped. His closeness, his presence, and the painfully vulnerable expression on his face exploded Will's self-control.

He decided to cross the bridge. Of everything else crashed and burned, he didn't care. All he saw was the younger boy's jubilant eyes. Tilting his head slightly, he touched his lips against his.