A/N: I have betrayed all of you. This was supposed to be posted already, but then there was that time when the internet suddenly doesn't like you and yeah... Another product from the excuse factory, I know, but here it finally is! After the buildup, this is probably really anticlimactic, but such is life... OOCness overload most likely too. Sorry guys. But please enjoy, any feedback is good feedback!

Will paced the floor of the infirmary. Ever since the skiing fiasco at the beginning of the year, Nico had been avoiding him, and Will wanted that to change. He knew he messed up big time, but is it really necessary to not want to be in the same area as him for over a month?! Will thought back to the days, wondering what could possibly be going through Nico's mind to make the younger demigod hate him so much, but he couldn't think of anything but the kiss. Will recalled shouting out at Nico's retreating form he was sorry and it just happened, how it didn't mean anything, but he wasn't sure if Nico heard him at all. He didn't know what to do now that he had ruined his chances with the one person he had ever fallen for. He wanted to talk to Jason or even Percy about it, but the two of them were always busy with other things that were more important than a lovesick demigod.

"Will, you can't keep this up. The more you pace, the more worn down the wood gets. Annabeth won't be happy if that happens. Besides, we need your help, not your constant paces."

"Sorry! I'm coming. I'm helping." Will scolded himself. He couldn't afford to get distracted like this in situations like this. He needed to keep his mind off of Nico while he was in the infirmary... But how could he just... Not think about Nico when Nico was like... the only thing on his mind at all? Will sighed, distracting himself best he could with his duty. However, the infirmary was empty just as quickly as it had filled, leaving Will alone to his thoughts once more. Another sigh escaped his lips as he flopped down on a spinning chair, thinking about anything he could do to make things normal with Nico again. But nothing came to mind. The only thing he could think of was explaining how the kiss meant absolutely nothing, and that he was sorry... But even then, Will knew things wouldn't get any better.

Nodding his head, knowing that he had to try, Will went to the infirmary door, intent on going to the Hades cabin to talk to Nico, but was stopped short on his journey when he opened the door, revealing another blond.

"Oh... Hey, Jason," Will greeted. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good... mind telling me your side of the story of what happened at New Years?"

"You're just asking now?" Will couldn't help but blurt out.

"Well... I wanted to ask earlier, but Piper wouldn't let me say anything about it... She explained it would only make Nico stay in his cabin more than he was already, so I elected to ignore it, but things have gotten out of hand, and I want to know. It's affecting you and Nico poorly, and you guys just need to suck it up and forget about it."

"That's the thing," Will spoke, "it's not so easy to forget."

"How do you mean?" Jason asked, cocking his head like a begging puppy.

Will scrunched his nose as if he smelt something putrid, but answered anyway, "I messed up, and it was one of those mistakes that I'll take with me to the grave. Easily the most embarrassing thing I've done. Nico hates me because of it, and I regret everything."

"I don't think it was that bad," Jason insisted. "What I mean is... Nico doesn't hate you, Will. He's confused, and he needs to talk to you, but for some reason that I don't know, he's too afraid to approach you. And given Valentine's Day is approaching faster than you think, I would appreciate it if you and Nico sorted out this speed bump. 'Cause we should do a group thing again."

Will sighed. He didn't think Valentine's Day was a time to gather with friends, but whatever worked, he supposed. He needed to talk to Nico, the sooner, the better... But he didn't want to bring up what he did either. But with Jason waiting patiently for him to get moving, Will knew he couldn't procrastinate on this any longer; he had no choice but to talk to Nico.

Leaving Jason behind, Will slowly made his way over to the Hades cabin, where Nico was sure to be if he was even still in camp. He approached the door carefully, knocking twice. The only response he heard was a groan telling Percy to bother someone else.

"Nico? It's Will... We need to talk."

There was a moment of silence before the door opened, revealing Nico. He looked like he had just gotten up, still in his night clothes, unkempt hair, and what worried Will the most, was the prominent bags that were only growing deeper it seemed as time went on. Without a word, Nico dragged Will inside, closing the door, while trying his best not to slam it shut.

"Nico," Will started as Nico refused to look at him, still facing the door he had just closed, his hand still grasping the handle. "At New Year's, I wasn't thinking straight, and I thought everyone else was doing it, and I felt a little left out... It didn't mean anything, I swear. It just sorta... Happened..." Will's gaze never left Nico's back, and as he was going on, Nico had turned around, red eyes staring right back at him. Will found himself unable to explain any further as he saw something on Nico's cheek he never thought he'd see on the boy.

A tear.

In all the time Will had known Nico, the teen had never cried, hardly smiled, and certainly didn't laugh. Will barely knew anything about Nico, but still managed to fall in love with him. It led to him making some mistakes that he couldn't go back to fix... He just had to deal with it, and now, something new. How was he supposed to comfort Nico; especially since he didn't even know what was wrong.

"It meant nothing, huh?" Nico said, his voice coming out surprisingly strong given his crying state. "Well... Then I guess this conversation is over. You've told me what you needed, so leave." Nico didn't open the door though, only putting himself back onto his bed, his eyes finding the floor most interesting now.

Will bit his lip. What was that supposed to mean? Will knew he was lying through his teeth when he said it meant nothing. He was on Cloud 9 when he kissed his crush... But what was he going to do now that he had said that, and gotten this negative response? 'I was just kidding! It meant a lot to me, and I would love to take you out sometime!' the lame thought entered Will's head for a moment, but he shook his head to get his thoughts together.

Will sighed, making Nico look up to him. "Nico, you are acting like a adolescent girl. This isn't the Nico that Percy entrusted the fate of the freaking world to, this isn't the Nico Jason is so protective of, this isn't the Nico that Reyna thinks of as a little brother! Hell, this isn't the Nico that is Hazel's brother. This Nico is a stranger, not the Nico that makes sly remarks under his breath when people say or do something stupid. This isn't the Nico that I fussed over three days. This isn't the Nico that I fell for. Nico, this..." Will trailed off, realizing what he had done. Had he been interrupted like per usual, he wouldn't have blurted it out like that.

Nico stared into Will's eyes, questions gliding in the dark orbs that just demanded answers. And who was Will to withhold the information? Will had to inhale deeply to pull himself together before explaining his actions for what they truly were.

"Nico, on Halloween, I told you to come to me if anything was wrong. I reminded you of my demand on Thanksgiving, and I helped you out at Christmas when you were sick... Even after you pushed me off the roof. But on New Years, when I kissed you, shouting how it was nothing... I didn't know if you would believe me... I'm a horrible liar, and every word of it was a lie. The kiss meant something... To me, at least. I thought I had finally found the perfect way to tell you I liked you, but then it turned out that way, and I didn't mean to offend you or anything... I guess it was never really established where we stood for sexuality, but you can make a pretty good guess for me..."

Will opened his mouth to say more, but was taken aback as a pair of lips crashed into his. It seemed familiar somewhat, Nico's lips, but Will found himself unable to react until Nico pulled away.

"And now you know where I stand." That was the last thing Will heard Nico say before he was pushed out the door, back outside, dumbstruck. That had really just happened, and Will couldn't do anything. Though one thing was for certain: Will was going to tell Nico how he felt, in a proper manner. He just had to figure out how that was now. But he wouldn't dare go to someone for help... He created this mess, so now it was his job to fix it. However, in order to do that, he needed to find out a little bit more about Nico.

Nico flopped down onto a bed, rubbing his face with his hands. Ever since New Year's, he hadn't been sleeping properly, and he couldn't even really understand why. He didn't know why Will was getting to him so much, but he knew for certain there was no changing it. It was official... Nico had fallen for Will Solace. He didn't know how to react to his feelings yet really. How was he supposed to when he had someone like this before who was taken away from him? Nico didn't want to just accept how he felt... He didn't want to lose anyone else because they got too close to him. Nico was afraid that if he allowed himself to act on his feelings anymore, he would only end up hurting Will more. He had done something stupid before, and now, Nico knew, Will would only come back, making things harder for him the long run. Will was stubborn, and wouldn't allow Nico time to ponder his actions and think about what this meant for the future. What was he supposed to do? Tomorrow was singles awareness day... What if he wasn't single?

Nico shook all thoughts out of his head, choosing to finally sleep instead of worrying about things he couldn't control. Whatever was meant to happen, would happen. And, worse comes to worst, he would simply shadow over to the Underworld and stick around there for a while.

He wasn't asleep long before there was more knocking on his door.

Groaning, Nico sat up, rubbing his eyes. He didn't say anything, wordlessly going to the door.

Greeted by the dim light of the setting sun, Nico glared up to the person who had disturbed his sleep.

"Good morning Sunshine," Jason said with a smile. "I thought some dinner would be good for you... So..."

Nico nodded, stepping outside, closing the door behind him. He didn't care what he looked like. He was actually hungry, so he was going to eat. Matching clothes can wait.

Will smiled as Jason and Nico started walking towards the dining area. This was it. He was going to do it. Will was going to ask Nico out in the only way a son of Apollo knew how.

Will walked past the two first, turning around and stopping in front of Nico. Jason pretended not to notice as he kept walking.

"Do you believe in love at first sight, or do I need to walk by again?"

Nico glared at Will. "That was stupid," Nico informed Will, going around him so he could eat.

"Don't be like that. Only your love can heal my broken heart."

"If your heart was broken, it wouldn't be beating."

"Dang... You're so pale... You must need an extra dose of vitamin me." Will joked with a wink.

"You sicken me."

"It must've hurt when you fell from Olympus, Angel."

"No, no... I only scraped my knees a bit, climbing up from the fiery pits of Tartarus," Nico responded with a small smile.

Will tilted his head, glad that he hadn't brought up any bad memories for Nico. "Ah," he said, "that explains why you're so hot."

Nico's face went tomato red,making Will wish he had brought his camera. The two continued on, working their way slowly towards the scent of delicious food.

"Hey, I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night?"

"Well," Nico spoke, "I had plans to sit around all day and wait for the day to end so I could get discount chocolate. Make a pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner..."

"So you're doing nothing?"

"I told you that I have plans... Plans to be alone. All day long."

"Well... Mind if I be alone with you?"

Nico looked up at Will, words forming on his mouth that he didn't say right away. "Well... I guess there's room for another person. I don't think there's anyone who could care."

Will smiled. "Awesome! I'll bring over some movies we can watch. This is going to be so much fun!"

Will paced the Apollo cabin. It was nearly four in the morning, and he was beginning to feel nervous. He and Nico agreed to meet up at the Hades cabin in just three hours from now. He was scared. He didn't know why, but Will was afraid of how the day was going to go. It wasn't like he had anything planned. He had sneaked into the kitchen and made a few batches of cookies, but that was all. Something was going to go wrong, he just knew it. He was forced into bed by some of his siblings who were sick of his pacing, and eventually, found himself asleep.

He was woken up not two hours later when his alarm went off. Will began to get ready for his day, packing a bag with a pillow, a blanket, the cookies, and some candy. Will left his cabin just two minutes before seven, making his way to Nico. He wasn't surprised to find the other still in his pajamas, but Will was a little taken aback by the flour on Nico's nightclothes. But before he could ask, Nico started speaking.

"I didn't know what kind of pizza you liked, so you're just going to have to suck it up and eat my kind."

"I'm fine with anything. Cheese, pepperoni, sausage... Anything."

Nico nodded. "Good. It should be ready soon..."

Will watched Nico disappear somewhere. He didn't really care where the son of Hades went... Though he was wondering why he was acting so different from his usual self. It was strange, and a little worrying for Will. Nico was being kind, and other things like his actions just didn't add up to how Nico really was. However, Will was ready to go with it. Whatever it was, Will would ignore it and just have a good time with his crush.

Nico wasn't gone long, returning with two pans that had the delicious aroma of pizza coming from them. Nico placed them on the coffee table next to some drinks and plates, and a pizza cutter. Nico was clearly prepared for this. Unlike him. The TV was set up, blankets and pillows littered the floor, and the blinds were shut. The room was dark with the exception of the faint glow coming form the inactive TV.

"What are we watching?" Nico asked, looking to Will as he began cutting the pizzas.

Will shrugged. "I'm fine with anything."

"I decided the food and location. The very least you can do is pick a freaking movie."

Will sighed, knowing there was no arguing with Nico. He quickly picked up the first movie he found and gave it to Nico to put into the DVD player... If Nico had DVD player.

"Here," Nico said, going over to a cabinet. "I have that one... Somewhere..."

He filed through the movies there and pulled out the identical movie, only this time, VHS. He popped it into the player and soon enough, the movie started up.

"Hey, Nico..."

"Sh!"

"I was just-"

"Don't talk during the movie."

"Do you have any drinks?"

Nico glared at the screen as Will kept talking, but pointed to the cooler set up underneath the coffee table, his eyes never leaving the television.

Will plucked a pop from the cooler, opening as quietly as possible so Nico wouldn't snap at him again. Altogether, the movie was slow, boring, and dare Will say, horrible. Nico had nearly fallen asleep during the movie which told Will it was as boring as he thought it was.

"Your choice in movies suck," Nico informed Will as he rewound the VHS.

Nico soon removed the movie, putting back into its case before standing up to go back to his cabinet of movies, picking up a different one. He smiled as he pulled the VHS out of its case, popping it into the player. Will took notice of the case, his eyes going wide.

"Are you serious?! That's not appropriate for today!"

Nico cocked his head. "I don't see why it's not... It's just another day as far as I'm concerned."

"Piper is going to be so disappointed."

"Why? Because I didn't want to go to her stupid party?"

"No. Because you're romantic side isn't up to date."

"Never has been, thank you for noticing."

"Do we really have to watch this?"

"Yes. I've had it for a long time, but never got around to actually watching it. It'll be fun."

The movie started, and the very first thing Will noticed was that he couldn't read the words on the screen, nor understand the people that were talking.

"Nico," Will groaned. "I can't understand..."

Nico rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Will was starting to think he didn't understand either... Until while trying to grab Nico's attention, Will spilled his pop, that was pushed towards Nico, who immediately stood up, cursing in the same language as the movie. At least, Will assumed he was cursing. Will swallowed, not knowing what to do.

But whatever Will was going to do was paused when Nico ripped his pajama shirt off revealing his usually veiled skin. Nico had a very nice body. Unlike what most people at camp thought, Nico wasn't anorexic skinny. Though quite thin, Will caught himself staring at a slightly muscled abdomen of his crush.

Before he could stop himself, Will whistled and said, "Dang son, are you Pulmonary Embolism because you just took my breath away."

"I hate to break it to you, but I don't know CPR. You better get your breathing under control because I don't want a dead body in my cabin."

Will laughed. "Don't worry. I know CPR."

"Because you can use it on yourself, right, sorry. I forgot," Nico responded sarcastically, putting on another shirt. Will found himself disappointed, but said nothing to Nico directly.

"Hey, Nico, did you know that kissing lets go of this thing called dopamine?"

"And I should care because...?"

"It makes you happier. It also stops headaches."

"Are you suggesting something?" Nico questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, ow... I think I feel a migraine coming on."

Nico rolled his eyes, but went over to Will, kissing him deeply on the lips. "Quit whining, you big baby," Nico said when he broke away. "You better now?"

"All better," Will agreed, laying down on the pile of pillows. "Come lay with me."

Nico's face burned with just that statement. "I think your meaning of that and mine are completely different," Nico told Will with a thick swallow.

"Let's use mine," Will replied, pulling Nico down to lay with him. Will kissed Nico's forehead, running his fingers through Nico's black locks. The day was going just fine, and it wasn't even noon yet. A good day indeed.

"Nico, I wasn't expecting things to go so smoothly."

"Will, shut up and let me enjoy the rest of the movie."

"I'm serious."

"So am I. I'll rip your trachea right out of your throat. Pulmonary Embolism will be the least of your worries then."

"I'm still trying to comprehend how this worked out so well for me... Us."

"Well, it might have worked well for you, but getting to this point was hell for me."

"Of course... Yeah, I know... But just... It's nice... You survived the storm, which means mine is still coming up... You'll help me when my problems come up, right?"

"If you're so worried you can't do it yourself," Nico replied, kissing Will. "I'll be right here, right next to you..." He whispered something in Italian, making Will smiled.

"I don't know what you just said, but I love you."

"Idiot," Nico muttered, cuddling close, nuzzling close to Will.

And before they knew it, Nico had fallen asleep on Will's chest, followed by Will dozing off just as the second movie was ending; not even noon yet.