Just One More Time

by that-one-fanqirl

After the battle with Gaea, Nico DiAngelo' s world is turned upside down. Will Solace has found a place in his brain and Nico can't stop thinking about him. "Just One More Time" Will hopefully be a long series of short chapters involving love, life, and laughter. In a world where no one understands, could Nico finally be happy? Nico and Will are sent on a quest to save the fates.

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The day was going by slowly for Nico diAngelo. The rain fell in lazy little downpours, as if Zeus had decided to model the weather while drunk. It was on days like this, when the sky was grey and no mortal soul lingered outside, that the son of Hades felt most at home. He had decided not to eat that day, so with the constant sound of rain on the roof and little groans from his stomach, Nico stared hopelessly at the blank piece of paper in front of him. Everyone was going to be at Camp Half Blood on Sunday for his birthday, even his father. Leo and his girlfriend Calypso (who he had never met) were taking a break from traveling the world, just to come and see Nico. Sunday. It was usually his favorite day of the week, but now, with all this stress on his brain, Nico couldn't even stand to hear the word. Sunday's used to be Nico's escape. Every other god-forsaken day of the week, Nico sat with Jason for meals, for head counselor meetings, and he even had to sit with him to wait for an open stall in the guys shower house. Jason was a great guy, but ever since Nico had opened up to him about Percy, Jason had him on a leash. To be honest, Jason managed to ruin every six out of seven perfectly gloomy days of Nico's life. But every Sunday, it was a free day at camp. Nico could go rock climbing with Will Solace, he could sword fight with Will Solace, heck, he could even "brighten peoples day" in the camp infirmary with Will Solace. Best of all, at sunset he and Will would eat ice cream (Nico always had black cherry and Will always had lemon sorbet). They had a tradition of mixing their ice cream together and laughing about major events of that week. Solace had always been just a friend to Nico, but Nico wanted more than a platonic relationship. He wanted Will.

Piper had decided it for him, and it was too late for Nico to turn back. About a week ago (which was three weeks after the battle with Gaea), he gathered the seven demigods, excluding Leo, for an emergency meeting. Annabeth, himself, Percy, Piper, and Jason, sat around Chiron's laptop skyping Hazel, Frank, and Reyna from Camp Jupiter. Nico remembered the conversation clearly. He even remembered his opening line, which went something like: "Okay, guys. Here I go...". He had looked over at Jason, Annabeth, and Percy, who were the only people who knew. Jason gave Nico an idiotically proud grin and went back to polishing his glasses. When Jason didn't have his black-rimmed Ray-Bans on, he looked like a roman version of Will Solace. "I," Nico started. "I, umm, I like..." Seven faces peered back at Nico expectantly. "I like guys. I'm, umm, I guess you could say I'm... Gay?" Piper didn't flinch. Hazel was still processing the fact that gay people weren't shunned, like the were in olden day New Orleans. Frank turned into a koala. Will loved koalas.
After the meeting, Piper pulled Nico aside. "Nico," she cooed. "Promise me that on your birthday, you will come out to everyone. Even your dad."
"Okay," Said Nico. "I will come out to everyone, especially my dad. You should order rainbow balloons."

That was how it happened. Not only did he have to be around the living on his birthday, but Sunday (Nico shuddered at the thought of the word) had turned into a massive "coming out of the closet" party. Nico was not a social butterfly. In fact, he hated being social. He also hated butterflies. He glanced around his gloomy cabin and his eyes settled on the shrine to his dad. "Children of Hades should not be party planners," Nico groaned aloud. The only thing he wanted to do on Sunday (Eww... That word...) was eat lemon/black cherry ice cream with Will. The thought of Will made Nico's eyes sting. His pencil finally met the dreaded piece of paper. "Dear Will," he wrote as the words rolled off his tongue. "I think I'm-" Nico would have written more, but he heard three knocks on the door. He folded up the note and stuffed it in his pillow case, leaving himself a mental note to continue the letter that night. Three more knocks sounded through the Hades cabin. Nico scrambled to the door to let in his company.
"Hello," said Will Solace, son of Apollo.