"Nico!" Will called out to Nico who was leaning against a tree trunk while the rest of the demigods danced to the songs of the Apollo cabin. Will was supposed to be singing with them but Kayla convinced him to take it easy this time. He's been a good head counselor the whole year, he deserved a well-earned break.

Nico turned his head to the sound of his name. For a moment, Will thought he saw his face light up but he must've imagined it. "Hey."

"Hey. Want some hot cocoa?" Will held out one of the paper cups in his hands which were tightly wrapped in thick gloves. It was a snowy night, 'Christmas eve' as the mortals would call it. The gods didn't exactly approve of calling it Christmas but Percy Jackson insisted the god of lightning that it'd be silly to call the holiday Zeus-mas. Jason Grace had to intervene just to save his friend from becoming a overly cooked Zeus-masturkey.

The son of Hades eyed Will's outfit from head to toe. Will was wearing at least three layers of clothing topped with a white trench coat. His scarf was covering half of his face but what did it for Nico was the earmuffs he was wearing. He just thought it looked absolutely ridiculous that he snorted. Slightly offended, the blond asked. "Excuse me?"

"Why are you covered so much? It's not even that cold." Nico was actually smirking but Will was too exasperated to notice.

"That is an opinion, di Angelo. As a child of Apollo, I'm pretty sure I'd die at this exact moment if it wasn't for that bonfire. My feet are frozen and I can't even feel my fingers anymore."

"Is a 'child of Apollo' a euphemism for being a wuss?"

"Oh, you wanna go di Angelo?" Will said but his voice was not at all hostile. it was filled with pure amusement.

"Yeah, but even if we fought, you'd still have no chance against me." Nico was smiling fully now. He graciously took the hot cocoa from Will and muttered a 'thanks'.

"Since when did you become a sass butt?" The blond motioned him to scoot over so he can lean on the tree as well.

"Since I started hanging out with you." Nico blew on the hot cocoa and inhaled the sweet scent.

"Then maybe you should spend less time with me."

The two gazed at each other for quite a long time before Nico eventually broke off the staring contest. "Yeah okay, well, bye Solace."

Will laughed and grabbed Nico's arm as the latter tried to escape. "Nico…" Both of them laughed at the idiocy and childishness of their premise.

The pair stayed a little while longer on the tree and chatted about how their year went. Nico remained at the camp for the full year, teaching new campers how to fight in combat with a sword. He also taught them about the different Greek monsters, and some Roman characters too upon Chiron's instruction. He also shared how sometimes he'd help out in the infirmary even if Will wasn't around.

"Wait, really?" Will was genuinely surprised. Lou Ellen never told him about that. He ought to ask her about that later on.

"Yeah… those three days after Gaea made me really enjoy helping out in the infirmary. I kind of can see why you love what you do so much."

For some reason, that comment really touched Will. "Thanks Death Boy."

Nico clicked his tongue to show his annoyance at the nickname but he was still smiling nonetheless.

"So what about you? Found any guys that you liked in your school?" Nico asked.

"Yeah… no. And I'm not exactly looking for one…" Will said. He was then reminded of how he opened up to Nico. It was right after Nico opened up to him. They were in the strawberry fields just because they both wanted strawberries that day. While they were picking tediously, Nico was narrating why he'd been so cold all these years. And then it just slipped out.

"… I liked Percy Jackson and I used to be so ashamed of that, but now… well, I realized, nobody gives a hoot about who I like— probably because I'm a child of Hades, but still… I was scared for the wrong reasons. I was a fool for so long…"

"No you weren't. I honestly think you're really smart when you're not trying to disobey me with your shadowtraveling shenanigans." He paused for a while then continued, "I do appreciate you telling me that, Neeks. I really do."

"Well, I've been hanging out with you for quite some time now, I thought, you know, you deserved to know that side of me."

"Thank you and by the way, I kind of like guys as well. Just a heads up."

They were so nonchalant about it that none of them were really surprised about the 'big secret'. After that day, they'd somehow become closer. Even when Will had to leave for school, communication was never a problem. They would iris-message each other every once in a while. In a way, they had become each other's best friends. When Will needed someone to rant about his professors, he would just message Nico and he would listen to the self-proclaimed doctor for hours. And when it was Nico's birthday, Will drove all the way to Half-Blood Hill to give him a first edition mythomagic card deck.

"Solace!" Nico snapped his fingers in front of the blond. "You zoned out on me."

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to go some place else?"

"Sure." Will gulped the last of his hot cocoa and threw the cup in the nearby trash bin.

The two trudged through the snow, observing the foot prints that they left. Will guessed they were heading to the beach. Surprisingly, no one was around aside from the nymphs that danced around happily.

A cold breeze passed by and caused Will to shiver. "A-aren't you cold in that?" He referred to the light black coat Nico was wearing in the place of his usual aviator jacket.

"Not really." Nico answered mindlessly. It seemed like his mind was preoccupied.

Of course, Will noticed this. "Hey, everything alright, Bones?"

"Yeah… just thinking about stuff." Nico laughed humourlessly.

"What a-about?"

"I don't really know, just the past year." He shrugged.

"Okay, old man." Will narrowed his eyes.

The boy chuckled. "Hey, Solace?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Nico said shortly.

Will tilted his head slightly. "For what?"

"For everything. For stumbling across me that day. For being patient with me those three days. Basically, just thank you for being my friend. I want to make sure that you know how much I appreciate these kind of things you did for me. I'm being cliche I know but…" Nico's voice cracked. "But when, you've been alone for so long and then someone like you comes along… it just makes things… brighter? I guess? Jeez, I suck eggs at this." He laughed as he scratched the back of his neck bashfully.

For a while, none of them said anything. Then Will spoke. "Nico… I'm gonna do something that will probably ruin our friendship, I'm sorry…"

"What—"

And then Will kissed Nico di Angelo. His heart was pounding against his chest. He no longer felt cold but felt the exact opposite. His face was hot. His hands carefully cupped Nico's neck. His lips tasted of hot chocolate and it was the sweetest thing Will ever tasted.

At first Nico was frozen. But then he began to comprehend the situation. Will Solace was kissing him. Then he repeated the thought again. Will Solace was kissing him. When he finally stopped being a rock, he kissed Will back. His hands gripped the fabric of his coat. He tiptoed to reach Will better and felt him smile against his lips.

When they parted, they saw a new spark in each other's eyes.

"Sorry but you can't say something like that and not expect me to kiss you."

"Well then, saying that bad speech was probably the best decision I ever made."

Both of them laughed as they held one another in each other's arms.

"Merry Zeus-mas, Nico di Angelo."

"Merry Zeus-mas, Will Solace."

I think they were a bit ooc but what do you think? I've been away from the keyboard for so long that I've kind of lost my rhythm in writing. But of course, writing about solangelo served as a very good warm-up exercise.