It was a misty morning,with a gentle drizzle down on the Half-Blood Hill,a pleasant way to start the day.

In the loneliness of the early morning,a son of Hades walked out of his cabin,taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air. The sky was streaked with pink and orange,and hues of whites and blues. He gazed at the rising sun,wondering what was to happen.

After a mental debate whether to carry his sword or not,he decided to go on a walk down the forest.

The air felt cold against his skin,and the leaves were not yet uncurled,with specks of dew on it. Cheerful chirps of the birds echoed the still lushness around him.

His lips twisted into one of those he rarely did-a soft smile. Not any smile that he did for the Gods' sake,but he meant it.

He loved this peace.

He wished the Earth Goddess could be like this forever,in her beauty and sleep.

Crack

Nico whipped around with his sword in his hand,eyes searching for any signs of threat. His smile was gone,replaced by a stern look,tight-lipped.

But it took moments for the stern look to disappear.

"Solace. What are you doing here?" He was partially annoyed at Will Solace for ruining his peace,but it was hard to hate those blue eyes and gorgeous face.

Will seemed to pick up the anger on the Ghost King's voice,and shrugged,"Enjoying nature. Like you."

"The truth."

"Okay,Okay," Will sighed,his smile turning goofy. "Geez man,quit that voice. You're scaring me."

Nico rolled his eyes.

"I was minding my own business till I saw you come in here all by yourself. I wanted to see what you were up to."

"That's none of your beeswax." Said Nico.

"No it isn't." Will grinned,making it obvious he was stating the opposite.

"Well,I have every right to ask what you were doing before I came." Nico gritted,stealing a look at the blonde haired boy before turning away quickly.

"Just seeing my dad. I hardly get time to see my dad or Aunt Artemis nowadays,now that the war is over and stuff. People are getting sick so easily."

"I pity you." Nico spoke with so much fake sympathy that Will burst out with laughter.

And that was the end of the conversation,continued by an awkward silence.

"So..."Will wasn't sure what to fill there. " 'Sup lately?"

Nico had to take only one look at Will's face for his answer,"Will annoying Solace annoying me."

Will chuckled good naturedly,and Nico had to restrain himself from staring at him. There was absolutely no way Nico could earn this gem.

"Apart from that. I was hoping you would say something about the beautiful..."He paused,catching the eyes of the boy next to him."...morning."

"Isn't it already complimentary that I smiled at the nature today?" Nico asked,crunching dry leaves in the way. "You know that even 3:30 PM in the evening is too early for me to get up."

Nico got another chance to see the gorgeous son-of-Apollo's dazzling smile.

"Well,you're funny." Will said."Apart from that too,today's morning is pretty cool. I bet dad's got something going on."

"Hmm-mm."

"Though it's too much light. It needs some darkness don't you think?"

Nico's lips were itching to smile.

"What am I hearing?" Nico teased. "Son of Apollo? Darkness? No connection."

He smiled to himself,though Will noticed it.

"Of course,"Will's blue eyes were captivating as they looked at Nico's. "Of course there is."

Nico decided not to lead on the topic.

"I spoke to Percy about it the other day. You told me not to hide my feelings from him." Nico reminded.

"Oh. That's nice,Nico." Will kicked a pebble. "Never bottle up your emotions again,okay? And about that insecurity...I swear by the Gods. It's the 21st century. No one cares which gender you date."

Nico shrugged.

"And about dating..." Will chuckled nervously,Nico sensed. "...You...you should see the kids in my Cabin. Kayla has got this crush on an Ares kid,because he shoots awesome. And this Demeter kid is a lesbian."

"Oh." Nico didn't see where this was going. Why should he be interested in other's love lives,like he's an Aphrodite kid?

"...I'm just trying to tell you that you shouldn't feel bad about it...and ah..." Will's hands scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "...um...well..."

Nico stopped walking.

He grabbed the boy's T-shirt and pulled him forward,his cold lips covering the blonde's warm ones in a kiss.

The son of Hades was gentle in his kiss,careful not to force the other. Skeletal butterflies fluttered in his stomach as his daydreams became reality,his kiss being more wonderful than he had imagined.

Will was unsure what to do,and let the black haired boy take complete control as he went limp and melted into paradise. Nico's cold hands caressed his neck lazily,and Will's caught the shorter boy's hips.

Nico pushed away just when Will wanted more,and walked into the greenery,flashing a smile before he left.