A/N: Happy (early) Halloween! :3 (falls over from exhaustion) I've never tried this 'tidbit' style before and I wrote this all during an eleven-hour plane flight so sorry if it fails ;A:

Will Solace was sprinting down the street with his keys in his mouth while trying to balance a slipping bag from his shoulder. He almost slipped on the wet sidewalk and collided with a street post, but he only ran faster. He was late. He was so, so late. It wasn't how he wanted this night to go at all. He had it all planned out. He'd worked each detail so carefully. It had to be today of all days that his alarm clock decided to throw in the towel.

The plan was simple: wake up, take life-changing exam, go home, get handsome, and ask the life-changing question.

But it had turned out like: wake up forty minutes late, sob through life-changing exam, rush home, struggle with a tie, and run for his life to the fancy restaurant that he'd been on the reserved waiting list for three months.

Will wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and nearly got struck by an SUV while darting across the street. His nice shoes that Piper had spent hours picking out for him splashed in a muddy puddle, and the sides of his newly pressed trousers were soaked.

His boyfriend was going to kill him. "Don't be late," was the only request he'd given Will. With all the late nights between work and studying, Will had been slacking in the romance department. It caused a lot of fights, which resulted in Will getting comfortable on the couch for several nights a week, but that was exactly why Will had set up this date. He had to practically beg his boyfriend to agree to show up, and now he was going to mess it all up again. He was late.

Will skidded a bit on a wet newspaper and cursed. He had been running in the completely wrong direction. He paused to send a quick text to his boyfriend and began speeding off the way he had come.

"Please wait, please wait, please wait!" he chanted underneath his breath, ignoring the strange stares he received as he fled across the street.

His only comfort in the thought, if his boyfriend would indeed kill him, was that Will could totally haunt his ass.

He hadn't known a lot about ghosts or ghouls as a kid. Once, he'd stayed up late with his dad and got totally freaked by a movie about zombies, but then his mom had come in and sent him to bed. He just knew that ghosts were scary and he wanted nothing to do with them.

But, then, Nico di Angelo moved all the way from Italy and joined his fourth grade class. Will had been very curious about the new kid that had practically come from an entirely different world, so he flailed and pointed at the empty seat next to him, begging loudly for him to sit down there. Nico spotted him and shyly made his way over after being introduced.

As Nico passed Leo Valdez, one of their classmates with curly black hair and who was currently chomping on a large piece of gum, he suddenly stopped and looked up and to the side, seemingly at the wall, as if someone had just said something. Nico nodded and looked Leo straight in the eyes. "Your grandma said you shouldn't eat gum from under the desk," he said just as Leo was blowing a large bubble.

Leo's eyes widened and the bubble popped. In front of him, Percy Jackson spun around in his chair, looking delighted. "EW!" he laughed, holding his sides.

Leo blushed. "I… What…?"

Nico didn't answer Leo. He just sat down next to Will and looked at his hands nervously. Will leaned over and nudged him. "How do you know Will's grandma?"

Nico's eyebrows furrowed. "She's standing right there." He pointed at blank air.

Will blinked. "I don't see anyone."

Nico pouted. "That's because she's a ghost, but she's there."

And Will's jaw dropped open. "Gh-ghost?" He looked back at the spot where Nico had pointed and blanched. "There's no such thing! You're making it up!"

The other boy crossed his arms. "I am not! Shut up!"

But Will had questions. A thousand of them. He followed the new kid everywhere, asking him any question that would pop into his head. Can you really see ghosts? Are they cool? Or are they scary? Hey, you're from Italy, right? Where's that? Is it far? Did you have to take a plane? Do you have pets? How did they get in the plane? Where are you going? Can I come?

Nico just mumbled shy answers and tried to escape, but Will was persistent.

Other incidents happened all year long. Nico once told Percy that his pet hamster was nibbling on his hair, only for Percy to burst into tears. Apparently, Percy's pet had passed on to the hamster wheel in the sky, and he was pretty broken up about it. He told Annabeth Chase that her grandpa was feeling great and was happy. By the end of fourth grade, everyone was certain of two things: one, ghosts existed, and two, Nico di Angelo could see them.

Everyone shied away from him. No one wanted the kid that could see the dead to sit with them at lunch or to play with them at recess. Even the teachers were afraid of him. Nico somehow knew all of their pasts and it rightfully freaked them out.

Everyone ran away except for Will. For some reason, Will was more interested than afraid. Sure, ghosts frightened him but it wasn't like Nico was a ghost himself.

His interest came as a great shock to Nico, who was wide-eyed every time Will asked him a question. "You really believe me?" he asked softly one day during lunch, which made Will stop. "You don't think I'm crazy?"

"Well, sure, I believe you." Will shrugged. "I think it's pretty cool."

And that was the first time Nico di Angelo smiled at him.

When his goldfish died one stormy morning, Will had pressured his family into having a nice farewell service for him in the bathroom. Will faithfully kept one hand over his heart while his father delivered a heart-warming goodbye message. "He was a good fish," he'd said in a loud dramatic voice, counting syllables on his fingers. "Swimming free without a care. We bid you farewell."

Will sniffled. "Bye, Swimmy." With a heavy heart, he flushed the toilet and his mother put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

His parents exchanged exasperated, worried looks as their son stared sadly into the toilet bowl. "We'll go to the pet store this weekend, honey," his mother said gently.

Will didn't answer. He was too busy formulating a plan.

The next day, he found Nico di Angelo. "Hey!" he shouted, startling the other boy.

"What?" Nico frowned at him.

"Can you see fish ghosts?" he asked suddenly, staring right into Nico's surprised eyes with determination.

"Um. I guess?"

"Awesome! Then I need your help!"

The 'playdate' was arranged by their mothers and, that weekend, instead of going to the pet store, Will Solace found himself standing in his bathroom, pushing Nico di Angelo closer to the toilet. "In there!" Will said, pointing down to the bottom of the bowl. "See anything?"

Nico grimaced. "All I see is a dirty toilet."

Will pouted. "Look harder! He's gotta be in there! Ask him if he's happy!"

The other boy looked at Will in confusion. "I don't think he'll be able to answer me. He's a fish."

"He's not a fish! His name is Swimmy! And just try!"

Nico sighed. "Look, Will. Sorry, but… he's not there." Defeated, Will slumped onto the edge of his bathtub and tried very hard not to cry. Nico looked very uncomfortable, rubbing his elbow. "Why'd you want to talk to a fish, anyways?"

Will sniffled again. "I… I wanted to know if he blamed me. You know. I, um… I sort of forgot to feed him. A lot." Will's bottom lip quivered. "I feel so bad! I just wanted to say sorry!"

Nico watched him for a long time as he cried. He glanced at the toilet then back to Will and sighed. "Wait. I think I do see something."

Will lifted his head. "R-really?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah. It's him. He says he's really happy, and that you were a good owner." He gave Will a little smile. "Well, that settles it."

Will blinked. "It does?"

Nico sat down next to him and shrugged. "Yeah. The fish – er – Swimmy is happy."

He let out a long, relieved sigh. "Oh, thank God!" Then, his cheeks started to heat up. "Wait… does that mean every time I use the bathroom that Swimmy will… yanno…"

Nico gave Will a weird look. An awkward silence fell over them before suddenly Nico burst into laughter. He covered his mouth. "S-sorry!" he choked out. "Y-you just looked s-so scared!" Will joined him and soon both of their sides hurt from laughing.

From that day on, for some unknown reason, Will and Nico had been best friends. They did everything together. Traded lunches, sat next to each on the bus, hung out on weekends, and called each other on the phone just to tell the other a dumb joke they'd thought of. During recess they used to play tag; even though Nico was much faster and was a filthy cheater.

"I was on base!"

"Both your feet had to be on it! You're it, Will!"

They were in the same fifth grade class, and even their schedules during middle school lined up more often than they didn't. They had Home Economics first period, and paired up together during the cooking unit. Once, Will had managed to set the whole oven on fire. He promptly panicked and tried to blow it out while Nico later claimed it had been the funniest thing he'd ever seen. In gym, Nico was known for his overall clumsiness and several times Will got a dodgeball to the head even if they were on the same team.

The other classmates were always terrified of Nico. Will pretended not to hear the whispers as they walked past. He ignored the scared stares that followed Nico as he sat down next to him in the cafeteria. He never thought anyone would have resorted to bullying, however, but one day after classes were over Will walked out to find an upperclassman had Nico pinned against the row of lockers. Immediately, Will made a beeline, not even listening to the shouts the older student was making. He caught a few words like "freak" and "faker" and Will's temper snapped.

He pulled the boy off of him and shoved him away. "Leave him alone!" he yelled. "Don't you touch him!"

The other boy huffed. "Why do you defend him all the damn time? Always hanging around him… you're just as bad as he is!" Will just gave him a deep glare, standing protectively in front of Nico with his arms outstretched, daring him to come closer. The boy sneered at them and left without another word.

Will sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and turned to check on Nico, but the raven-haired boy wasn't there. He was already marching down the hall quickly. "Nico!" Will called and followed him.

"Leave me alone, Will!"

"Just wait up, will you?" Will reached out and grabbed Nico's elbow, stilling him. "Are you okay?"

Nico didn't look at him. Will couldn't see his face but he could guess what it looked like based on the way he was shaking. "I don't need you to protect me, Solace."

Will rolled his eyes. What that why he was so upset? "I know," Will said quickly. "I know that. But, still, I couldn't just let that guy…" He clenched his jaw and looked away. "No one deserves that."

"He was right, though, wasn't he?" Nico ripped his arm out of Will's grip and glared icily at him. Will took a hasty step back. "I am a freak!"

Will's eyebrows knotted together. "Don't say that."

"But it's true, isn't it? Everyone is already afraid of me! Everyone should be afraid of me! They see me coming and they just… just run!"

"I'm not. I'm not running."

Nico met his eyes. Will felt an inexplicable anger at the sight of tears rimming those grey eyes. He wanted to find that bully and slam him into the lockers and see how he liked it. "Why?" Nico whispered, sounding desperate. "Why do you even bother with me? People like you, Will! You're the freaking poster boy for the perfect student! But I'm just dragging you down!"

Will scoffed. "Why do I bother with you? I thought it was because we were friends! Best friends! You're not a disease, Nico! You're a person! I mean… in the fourth grade you came over to my house after Swimmy—"

"I made that up!" Nico groaned. "I didn't really see the dumb fish, okay? I just said that so you would stop moping about it!"

Will took a deep breath. "I know. But you still cared enough to comfort me, even about something as silly as a dumb goldfish."

"That's… that's not what I meant!" Nico interrupted quickly and reached out. Will stopped and stared at their connected hands for a moment. Nico jerked his hand back to its usual spot in his pocket and sighed. "It wasn't dumb. I shouldn't have… I… I just don't want you to realize what a creep I really am and move on."

Will's shoulders sagged. "That's not going to happen. Look, Nico, I don't care what other people think! They just hear the ghost stuff and that's all they care about. They don't know that you're smart and funny and caring. They don't see any of that stuff."

Nico fidgeted on his feet. "But… you do?"

Will punched him lightly on the shoulder. "You bet."

"You're not… afraid?"

"Of you? Nah. I mean, ghosts still kind of freak me out, not gonna lie."

Nico laughed at that and the sound was more relieving than it should have been. "That's fair," he choked out. Will just grinned.

It was a short time later that Will told Nico his idea.

"What?" Nico paused in the act of eating his spaghetti to glare suspiciously at Will, who was practically shining with excitement.

"C'mon! You know those guys that film paranormal investigations and stuff? We could do that!"

"And why would we?"

"Are you kidding me? Imagine being able to prove to everyone what you can do! You might even be able to help some of these guys move on. Isn't that what you wanted to do in the first place?"

Nico twirled some pasta around his fork before waving it as he said, "And how exactly would we do this?"

"Easy. My dad has a bunch of cameras and recorders – everything we need. I'll man the camera." He grinned and squeezed one eye shut as he angled a frame around Nico's skeptical face with his fingers. "You just look good and do your thing."

A smile cracked his stony features and Will's heart skipped a beat or three. "If you stop making that face then fine."

"You'll do it?"

"I'll do it."

And that was how Will and Nico started spending most of their weekends in supposedly haunted places. Will held his camera close to him at all times, nearly always keeping it pointed on Nico and teasing him with it. "You've just proven the existence of life after death, Mr. Di Angelo! Whatever shall you do next? Search for Atlantis? Hunt after Bigfoot? The possibilities are endless!"

Nico had taken to the idea pretty seriously shortly after beginning. He started to drag Will to the library to do research for hours and hours before going to a particular place. Will fell asleep most days but never once complained. Nico seemed happier when they were doing things ghost-related, and Will couldn't deny that he'd gotten swept away in the thrill of making Nico smile.

He knew the still bullies existed, had fought them away himself, and Will couldn't deny that sometimes Nico di Angelo even freaked him out but not in the way everyone else thought.

There was something about him that drew Will in like a moth to a flame. His gaze burned right through Will's being, as if he could see right into his soul. His dark clothing was always tight and very form-fitting. Even the way he communicated with the dead made something in Will's chest tense up. He was always so compassionate and understanding. Will tried to help, joined Nico on countless adventures to cemeteries and abandoned houses to 'investigate', but mostly he ended up begging to leave early and watch happy movies. To anyone else, Nico would have scowled and delivered a sharp insult, but with Will he'd only roll his eyes and smile exasperatedly.

It was tenth grade when he realized exactly why that smile affected him so much, why he spent night after night in creepy places holding desperately onto a flashlight with one hand and Nico's arm with the other, or why his dreams, more often than not, were filled with strange visions of them holding hands or sharing a soda in a movie theater or other sappy scenarios that would make his ten year old self cringe.

At sixteen, Nico had grown up. He was still thin and pale, but his face was soft and defined at the same time. His hair was jet black and that perfect kind of messy. His clothes were still so tight it had to be uncomfortable, and Will often had trouble keeping his eyes on the screen of a camera during their investigations and off of the tight ripped jeans clinging onto the other boy's legs.

They were investigating, like any other Friday night, in an old farmhouse behind Will's neighborhood. They'd already been there a thousand times but neither cared. It was close and Nico claimed that it was full of friendly spirits. The floors were falling apart in some places, and the foundation of the house was questionable. Will's protective instincts were on high alert. "It's gotten worse," he muttered as he looked at the decaying state of the stairs. "We should probably stick to the first floor."

Nico snorted. "Don't be a scaredy cat," he ordered and began to climb up the steps.

"Nico," Will called warningly as he fiddled with the camera's zoom. "Seriously. Be careful."

"Careful is my middle—" The sudden sound of wood splintering startled both teens. Nico's foot had fallen through one of the steps and Will dropped his camera as he rushed to stop Nico from falling headfirst onto the wooden staircase.

"NICO!" he screamed just before Nico's head clunked against the ground. The sound made Will's stomach churn and something in his heart burn. He fell to Nico's side and panicked when he spotted a bit of blood on his forehead. "Nico!" He shook the other boy's shoulder. He was unconscious. "Oh, shit. Oh no." Everything felt like it was twisting and turning around him as he slowly lifted Nico into his arms and dug around in his pocket for his cellphone. It took a while for it boot up – due to Nico's strict rule of no texts or calls during investigations – and the entire time Will was fighting the tears in his eyes. As soon as he could unlock it, he quickly dialed 911.

It was when he was in the hospital, watching over Nico's sleeping form as the doctor told him it was just a minor concussion and he would be fine with a bit of supervision and rest, that he realized exactly what his feelings for Nico di Angelo meant.

After that, Will began to pester him about his health. He read all about concussions on the internet and woke Nico up every two hours to ask him basic questions like the date and what his name was. He scolded Nico for reading too much or straining his body when he should be resting. He forced Nico to get balanced lunches and eat all of it.

"You don't have to baby me!" Nico protested. "I'm not a kid!"

"I know," Will said and held up a finger. "Now follow my finger with your eyes."

Nico rolled his eyes but did as he was told. There was a little smile on his face as he did so. That smile… It was rare, fleeting, and otherworldly. It was something that Will saw and no one else. Nico had his ghosts, but Will had Nico, and that was good enough for him.

As high school wore on, Will's crush on Nico evolved into something more serious. Everything about the boy captivated him. Even as they both made their own different friends and found their own interests, they always came back to each other. They still went on investigations. They still partnered up in every project. They still told each other everything. Well, almost everything.

Will wondered how Nico would react to Will's feelings. He was pretty sure Nico wouldn't scorn him but the chances of him get rejected were a near certainty.

It wasn't until their senior year of high school, and prom approached that Will manned up. Nico had made it pretty clear that he had no intention of going to such a thing, but Will wouldn't hear of it. He had asked around the school for help.

"You have to be blunt," Piper McLean told him. "Nico's as dense as they come."

"Maybe you should give him a bone instead of flowers," Leo Valdez suggested.

Percy Jackson spun around in his chair and snorted. "Hey, Leo, maybe you could give Caly some ABC gum. Yanno, Already Been Chewed!"

"OH MY GOD!" Leo groaned and let his head drop to the desk. "That was seriously eight years ago! Let it go already!"

In the end, Will just decided to be himself.

He played it simple. He went over to Nico's house and avoided his very intimidating father and asked if Nico wanted to go check out this new place he'd heard about. "Is it haunted?" was Nico's automatic response.

"Very," Will answered easily.

"Let me find my shoes."

However, instead of taking Nico to some dark and depressing place, he led them to the park and stopped. Nico was, as expected, confused. "What are we doing here? I'm gonna freeze to death."

"Dramatic as always," Will muttered and struggled to get his nerves under control. He took a deep breath. "Okay. I just… I just wanted to ask you…"

Nico's head tilted to one side. "Ask me what?"

Will gulped. "I, uh, I know you don't like flowers and chocolates and those sorts of things." Man, his hands were sweaty. He had to remind himself to breathe. "But, er, well…" He carefully extracted a sole black rose from the inside of his jacket and held it out. Nico's eyes were wide and disbelieving. "I figured I'd give it a shot."

Nico slowly accepted the flower. There was a pout on his face. "But… why?"

Will rubbed his neck. "I… Okay. Wow, um… I sort of like you. No, I mean, I do. Like you, I mean. And, I was hoping… well, maybe you'd like to go to prom? W-with me?"

Nico's face went red. He looked down at the rose. "You… you'd better not be messing with me right now, Solace."

Hope swelled in his chest. "Never."

Nico smiled. "Then, I guess if it's with you I can put up with one night full of crappy music and awful suits."

Will exhaled in immense relief then his eyes snapped open wide. "Wait… you said yes?" Nico's smile grew and he nodded, shaking his head fondly when Will actually fist-pumped in victory. "Does that mean you like me, too?" Will raised an eyebrow cockily.

Nico huffed. "That depends."

"On?"

"Do we have to get pictures taken?"

Will laughed. "Nope. Not unless you want to."

"Then yeah. And, for the record, I liked you first."

Will beamed and laced their fingers together, and Will swore that they kept holding them through prom and their first clumsy dates at the movies and right up to graduation. Coming out had been pretty easy. When Will and Nico walked into Will's kitchen holding hands and said that they needed to tell them something, his mother and father just eyed each other and exchanged money.

Nico's parents were rather indifferent.

Their friends had all been confused. "Weren't you two dating, like, back in middle school?" was the common question they'd received.

Anyone disapproving of their relationship was ignored. Will and Nico were long used to the whispers and stares. Though, Will much preferred people talking about them being together over Nico's gift.

During graduation, Will fought his way through the crowd, grabbed Nico by the shoulders, and planted a long kiss against his lips amidst the flashing cameras and falling confetti. Nico had later smacked him pretty hard for being so blunt, but Will could see the smile on his face so he just kissed him again.

Over the summer, they were inseparable, like always, but now they could hold hands while they walked each other home. Will could pretend to be scared and cling onto the other boy to his heart's content. Nico could perch up on his tiptoes and kiss him whenever the fancy took him. On a late August night, Will and Nico were just lying in his backyard, huddled together and looking up at the stars after a long night in the library.

"I love you," Will blurted out suddenly, and winced when Nico whipped his head to look at him so fast his neck cracked. "A-ah… was that… too soon?"

Nico squeezed his hand. "You'd better not be messing with me."

Will let his head drop to the ground with a groan. "How many times to I have to say it? I would never mess with—mmph." He glared at the finger pushing at his lips.

"Shut up. Say it again.""

He rolled his eyes and moved Nico's hand to his chest, right above his heart. He waited until their eyes met and whispered, "I love you, Nico."

"I…" Nico's cheeks turned scarlet. "You, too."

When it came to college, they attended the same university. Will had settled into a pre-med program while Nico bounced from major to major for a while before deciding on nursing. "I like helping the dead," he'd said, "but I think I like helping the living even more."

Will just kissed his forehead and told him it was a great idea. They still went on investigations and Nico still thought it was terribly funny to point out whenever there was a ghost in one of Will's classes or dorm room or the library. Will just used it as an excuse to get his boyfriend to stay over more.

"You're gonna get tired of me sooner or later if we're always together," Nico muttered into his chest.

Will just hummed sleepily and wrapped an arm around Nico, pulling him closer. "Never."

When they graduated with their degrees, they decided to move to the city and into a small apartment. Will made Nico promise him that it wasn't haunted first. He didn't want any ghosts creeping on their more private moments. Nico started work at the nearby hospital while Will pursued his medical degree. It was hard work, and Will worked as a waiter to help with the bills and their mountain of student loans.

Nico's hours were unpredictable and long. More often than not he came home in a bad mood. Will prepared him a cup of hot chocolate and listened to him rant about his idiotic coworkers until the fight left him. Will's studies carved an even larger chunk out of their time together. The closer he got to his degree, he larger the workload got. Nico helped him through it. He tested Will and rewarded him with great food and kisses when he got the questions right.

They fought from time to time. Mostly it was over trivial stuff – who told who to take out the trash, who failed to pay the cable bill, and whatnot. But sometimes they argued. The time apart was bad for both of them. Between Nico's work and Will's studying, the most they saw each other was when one of them managed to join the other in bed and sleep, and it was taking its toll.

"It's like we're not even together anymore!" Nico had shouted. "You'd think you could make enough time to just have dinner together once a week!"

"It goes both ways, Nico!" Will yelled right back. "You're always at the hospital, even when you're not working. It's hard to talk to your boyfriend when he'd rather spend all his time around ghosts!"

"It's not my fault they all find me at work! What am I supposed to do? Just ignore them?"

"They're dead, Nico!"

"They're still people! I thought you, of all people, would understand!"

They fought and shouted until Will eventually had to leave to clear his head. He slammed the door behind him as he went. He needed fresh air. It took all of ten minutes for Will to feel immensely guilty and rush back home.

He found Nico sitting on their bed, looking at a picture of them from the fourth grade with a pained expression. Will sighed and sat next to him. The next moment they were hugging each other tightly and apologizing profusely. "I love you," Will whispered.

Nico hid his face into Will's collar and relaxed. "I love you, too."

Will rested his chin on the top of Nico's head. He didn't entirely understand Nico's gift for seeing spirits, but he decided that that really didn't matter. He still accepted it, and he'd just have to support him any way he could.

It was shortly after their big fight that Will thought about taking that final step. So he started saving up his earnings and studied twice as hard. If Nico noticed his sudden spike in determination, he said nothing. The USLME was coming up in a few weeks. It was the big test. The one that determined whether or not he had what it took to become a doctor. He hit the books hard and put everything he had into it.

Nico studied with him late into the night, often times forgoing much needed sleep, and encouraged him in his own little ways. Will really didn't know what he would do without him. Somewhere along the sixteen years they'd known each other, Will had fallen hard for the grumpy Italian. He knew that, for him, this was it. It was forever. And he wanted to make it official.

One day, he slipped into a jewelry shop just to browse at the silver rings, imagining being able to summon the courage to buy one of them one day. The saleswoman there had pitched quite the offer and, though it had started with just an innocent curiosity, the more she talked about it the more sense it made. He loved Nico and Nico loved him, right? So why not?

He left the store with a sealed velvet box and a plan.

It took him a good chunk of time to get a reservation at the best and oldest restaurant in town. The earliest he could get was on the same day as his USLMEs and somehow it seemed fitting to him.

The plan had been simple.

And it had failed.

Will was so late it would be a miracle if his boyfriend would still be waiting for him. Almost forty minutes past their reservation time, Will finally managed to burst through the Greek-style restaurant. He was soaked and out of breath and panicked. Desperately, he scanned the crowded tables for the familiar frown. For a terrifying moment, he thought Nico really had left, but then he saw him sitting in a lonely corner. He was nursing a glass of red wine and glaring irritably at the tablecloth.

At once, Will's mood rose. The way his sock squished in his shoe each time he took a step didn't bug him as much. His rain-matted hair didn't matter. All he focused on was how Nico seemed to glow in the low light, how dressed up he'd gotten, how he was still here after waiting for forty minutes.

He made his way over at once, all smiles. "Hey, babe," he greeted. "Sorry I'm late."

Nico blinked at his appearance before grimacing. "What happened to you?"

Will looked at his own appearance. "Ah, you know. I got pretty lost."

He was half expecting Nico to get mad and tell him off but something in his eyes just softened. "Well, you're here now. That's all that matters."

Will smiled and sat down. His nerves were messing with his stomach. By the time the waiter came to get their orders, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to look at food. He just ordered whatever it was that Nico got and handed off the menu with a grateful smile.

"So… how'd it go?" Nico asked, looking anxious.

"How'd what go?" Will blinked. Nico gave him a stern look. "Oh! The USLME! Right! They, uh, went pretty well, actually. At least, I'm pretty sure I didn't fail."

"Will, that's great!" Nico grinned. "See, I knew you'd ace it. You always do."

Will blushed. "Aha… I don't know if I 'aced' it but… I couldn't have done it without you."

Nico gave him a 'duh' look.

Will's fingers dug in his pocket. "Anyways, there's something I really want to ask you."

"And here's the moussaka!" the waiter announced, popping out of nowhere. Nico didn't even try to hide his amusement as Will jumped. He slipped his hand out of his pocket as they were served their meals. "Enjoy!" the waiter said before walking off.

Will wasn't sure what he'd ordered but his stomach churned in protest. Was that eggplant? Why did Will pick this restaurant again? Oh, right, because Nico loved it.

"There was something you wanted to ask me?" Nico said when they were halfway through their meals.

Will choked on his mouthful of eggplant. "Ah, r-right. About that…" He reached for his pocket again. "Well, you see…"

"Will, are you okay? You're looking a little green."

Will shook his head. "I'm great. Never better." It was just nerves, he told himself. He needed to get a hold of himself. He inhaled deeply, which was a mistake. The smell of the Greek food was enough to make him sick right then and there.

Nico's hand shot out and rested on his forehead. He huffed. "You're kind of warm. You've been working yourself too hard. Again. Getting lost in the rain probably didn't help." Nico wiped his mouth with a napkin and waved at their waiter.

"What're you doing?"

"We're going home."

Will blanched. "What? But we just got here and I'm fine!"

"No, you're not. No arguments. We're leaving."

"But…"

"Shush."

Will sighed, defeated, and let his boyfriend drag him out of the restaurant and hold an umbrella over both of their heads. Nico nagged him about taking better care of himself. Will was too busy trying to ignore how the ring in his pocket seemed to get heavier with each step.

That was what he got for trying to go the fancy route. He should've just done what he always did and been himself. Simplicity.

He started forming a new plan in his head. Maybe he'd go back to their roots, take Nico back to that old house behind his parents' place and ask him right there out of the blue. Nico would probably appreciate that more than an overpriced dinner. Underneath all of that grumpiness, Nico was a romantic, and Will knew it.

Yet, as Nico threaded their fingers together, he decided that it would just happen when it happened. Will traced Nico's left ring finger and smiled. One day, he'd feel metal there and be reminded of the shy fourth grader that sat down next to him, the angry teen that fought his way back onto his feet again and again, and the strong and caring man that he'd grown into. One day.

But, right then, he would settle for a walk in the rain with his love's hand clasped tightly in his.

A/N: On a completely unrelated note, I'm back in the US for a month and HOW DID I SURVIVE THIS LONG WITHOUT WENDY'S OHMAHGOD.