Nico woke in a panic. Though it was fading quickly, he knew he'd dreamed of being in Tartarus again. His muscles felt tight and he was breathing heavily. He reached up to wipe his trembling hand across his face and wasn't sure if the moisture on his cheeks was sweat or tears. It had been a whole year since his trip through hell but he still dreamed of it vividly. The dreams didn't come every night anymore, for which he thanked the gods, but he could still picture it in perfect detail; especially in his dreams.
He sat up, looked around, and was about to put his head in his hands to calm himself when his eyes rolled over a sleeping silhouette lying in the bed next to him. For a moment he was surprised but then remembered that Will had come over to the Hades cabin last night to play video games. Nico didn't remember him leaving and he didn't remember falling asleep either. The tv was still on and his game console was humming quietly on sleep mode. They must have fallen asleep mid game.
And apparently, Will had removed his shirt while sleeping. Nico did keep his cabin a bit warmer than room temperature because he always seemed to be colder than everyone else. Will was sprawled on his back with his hands carelessly flung above his head, his tanned chest gently rising and falling with his breaths. That is the posture of a kid that doesn't get nightmares, Nico thought. He let his gaze roam over Will's lean, muscular chest and toned arms, drinking him in. The handful of other times Nico had seen Will shirtless, he only stole glances when no one else was looking. They had only ever held hands and shared a couple brief, if fiery, kisses; all fully clothed.
Now, he indulged himself without restraint. The sheets had slid down past Will's hips and his pelvic bones were peeking appealingly above the waist line of his jeans. Nico didn't realize he'd been leaning towards Will until he saw his fingers hovering centimeters above them. He hesitated, but it was probably only 3 or so in the morning; Will was probably deep in a REM cycle by now, dead to the world. Nico tried not to read into that thought as he threw caution to the wind and closed the short distance with his fingertips.
He ghosted them slowly from the top of Will's right pelvic bone down to the hem of his underwear protruding from the top of his jeans. He exhaled softly and smiled just a little, his nightmare all but forgotten.
"Mornin'." He tensed and whipped his hand back. Will's eyes were open and his hands were positioned behind his head, though he looked adorably groggy.
"Sorry!" Nico yelped. "I, um, I had this nightmare so I woke up and I didn't realize you were still here and I really didn't mean to, um, you know. And I'm so, so sorry. I'll just…" He averted his eyes and started to get up quickly. As he turned, he felt Will's hand around his wrist. "Wait. Are you ok?" Nico turned and was caught off guard by the look of concern in Will's eyes. "Was your nightmare about Tartarus?" he asked quietly.
Nico nodded. "Can I help you feel better?" Will sat up and leaned toward Nico. He slowly brought his hand up and brushed a strand of Nico's hair away from his face. Nico blushed furiously and stammered some noises that were not quite words. Will smiled and leaned in closer; their faces were so close, Nico could feel Will's warm breath on his lips. He brushed his fingertips against Nico's cheek and murmured, "Can I?"
Nico hesitated for two beats of his heart and nodded. Will closed the distance between their lips and fireworks exploded behind Nico's eyelids. Will ran his fingers up to tangle into Nico's hair and he traced his tongue along Nico's bottom lip. Nico's restraint crumbled. He leaned forward until Will laid back on the bed. He rested his forearms on either side of Will's head and pressed their bodies together. Will smiled into their kiss and placed his hands on Nico's hips. He trailed his fingers along the strip of skin exposed at Nico's waist between his shirt and the top of his jeans. Nico shivered and moaned and Will took advantage of his parted lips to gently suck the bottom one. Nico's hips bucked involuntarily and Will's hands cupped Nico's backside and he gently ground his own hips into him. Nico was having a hard time ordering his thoughts but he didn't think anything had ever felt this good.
The door burst open and Piper rushed in saying, "Nico! We need your help! There's a hellhound that, um, oh…" Her eyes widened as Nico jumped back in surprise.
"What?! Nothing, uh, nothing was happening. I didn't, we didn't, it wasn't…" He petered out. Piper's face unfroze and her mouth turned up in a grin. Nico turned to look at Will who was sitting up on his elbows blushing furiously and grinning almost as big as Piper.
"We have a, uh, situation with a hellhound over by the edge of the woods and we'd sure appreciate if you could help us out with your shadow magicy stuff when you get a minute." She backed towards the door and winked before closing it behind her.
Nico's face felt like it would catch fire any second now. He furiously looked anywhere but at Will. "I should, uh…"
"Go, yeah. I'm sure they could use your help." Will took his hand and squeezed gently. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Nico looked up and met Will's eyes. They were soft and encouraging; he was smiling warmly. Nico almost smiled too and nodded before he stood, grabbed his jacket, and left the cabin.
...
Will spent all day thinking about what had happened early that morning. No matter what he did, he couldn't distract himself from imagining the weight of Nico's body on top of his. During crafts, he accidentally chiseled the nose off the bust of his father he'd been working on. And when he was leading archery that afternoon, he missed the bulls eye at least three times (inconceivable!).
After Nico had left, he'd put his shirt back on, calmed himself, and snuck back to his own cabin. He laid awake in his bunk until breakfast, unable to sleep thinking about what had happened. Usually, Nico was so reserved and very hesitant about physical contact, even if they were alone. Will could only assume that because it had been so early in the morning and he had just woken up, Nico's inhibitions had been lowered; he'd let his instincts and desires take over.
Will thought about how he'd like to test his theory the next morning. But Nico avoided him all day. He even skipped lunch to avoid Will nagging him about not eating enough which annoyed Will to no end because that probably meant he ate nothing. As lights out approached, Will steeled himself to sneak out again that night.
Around midnight, he tapped lightly on Nico's window. When Nico's face appeared, Will grinned and held up his video game controller while wiggling his eyebrows. Nico cracked a small smile, rolled his eyes, and opened the window. Will thought he seemed very relaxed considering what'd happened early that morning. He climbed through the window.
"Ready to get whipped again so soon, Solace?" he gloated. True, Nico did usually win at video games but Will enjoyed playing with him because Nico seemed to like it so much.
"In your dreams, Di Angelo!" Will shot right back. They had a few good rounds of playing until Will noticed Nico's eyes getting heavy. Then, during one of the longer scenes, his eyes closed completely, he slumped down on his bed, and the controller dropped from his hand. Will put a pillow under Nico's head and laid down next to him. This would be the fourth time Will had spent the night in Nico's bed, but the first time he'd planned it. He felt a bit devious before his eyes drooped too and finally closed.
Will started to stir around dawn. He usually did; son of Apollo; rising with the sun and all that. He blinked a couple of times, remembering where he was. Then he turned to look at Nico and was pleasantly surprised. Other times when Will had seen Nico sleeping, he was curled in a tight ball, his brow wrinkled, and he sometimes murmured worriedly under his breath. When he'd spent nights in the med tent, he'd seemed to have the definition of fitful sleep. Will had been unsurprised that Nico usually avoided sleeping.
But this morning, Nico was so serene, so at peace, it made Will's heart ache. He truly looked like his name was purposeful; Di Angelo, the angel. He lay on his back with his left arm up on his pillow gently following the curve of his head to allow his face to rest against his bicep. His right arm was draped across his stomach where it rose and fell with his light breathing.
Will had planned to wait until Nico stirred, but he was just irresistible like this; relaxed and untroubled. Will leaned in slowly and placed the lightest of kisses against Nico's jaw. His head shifted and he smiled in his sleep. Will's heart felt like it would burst. He pressed another kiss just below the first on Nico's jaw. Another, and once more, trailing a line to the corner of Nico's mouth.
Will pulled his head back to look into Nico's now open eyes. "Hi," Nico mumbled, a blush starting to creep up his cheeks.
"Mornin'," Will answered, smiling. Nico blushed even deeper.
"How do you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?" Will questioned softly raising one eyebrow.
"Make that one word sound so damn appealing." Nico grimaced a little like his words had reached his ears and he'd realized what he'd said and was embarrassed. He tried to turn his face away but Will tucked his fingers under Nico's chin and turned it back towards him.
"It can't be nearly as appealing as your face is when you're sleeping." Will smiled softly down at Nico. "Were you dreaming?"
Nico blushed furiously and averted his eyes. "Yeah. I dreamed about, um, about you." Will smiled bigger and gave him an encouraging look. "You were kissing me," he said in a rush.
Will chuckled, "Well, that was real." He pushed Nico's bangs away from his eyes.
"No. Um, I mean, it wasn't like that. It was more like…" Nico hesitated a moment and then raised his head a few inches so his lips could meet Will's. Will was overjoyed; his heart fluttered in his chest like a bird. And when Nico deepened the kiss, tangled the fingers of his right hand in the back of Will's hair, Will moaned into Nico's mouth. Nico seemed pleased with himself then and placed his other hand on Will's waist, tucking his fingers underneath the hem of Will's tshirt and gently tugged until Will repositioned himself on top of Nico. Resting his weight on his forearms on either side of Nico's head, he slid one leg in between Nico's and pressed their bodies together. He pulled his face up slightly and whispered, "OK?" In response, Nico inched his legs a little farther apart and pulled Will's face back down to meet his. Will grinned into their kiss and nibbled at Nico's lip which he seemed to like immensely.
Nico removed his right hand from Will hair and it joined the left at Will's waistline. Both hands slowly reached underneath the shirt and started moving up Will's back, taking the shirt with them. Understanding what Nico wanted, Will pushed himself up and dragged the shirt over his head himself. As he was sitting up, Nico sat up too so Will had to reposition himself to straddle Nico's lap. Nico yanked his own shirt off and drank in the sight of Will for a moment before he started kissing and gently sucking along Will's collarbone, wrapping his arms around his waist.
Will didn't think anything could be better than kissing Nico's lips, but this came close. He shivered and felt Nico smile against his chest. Will leaned forward and rolled so Nico was on top of him. If Nico was surprised, he didn't react; he just bent his face down to Will's and kissed him with purpose. After a moment, Will broke away panting. "Should we, um, lock the door?"
Nico smiled mischievously, "I did last night before you got here." Will laughed briefly, reveling in the fact that Nico'd planned last night the same as he had, before taking Nico's face between his hands and kissing him soundly. This time, no one would interrupt them.