Will woke up to someone singing softly and playing with his hair. He blinked his eyes open to find Nico, crying and singing to him. He lifted his hand as he tried to rub away the tears flowing down his cheeks when Nico realizes that Will was conscious. He rushed forward to hug Will.

"Oh my gods. Please don't ever do that again. I can't …"Nico said as he cried into Will's chest.

Will shocked by his sudden display of emotion, but hugged him back.

Will sat up with Nico's help, and Nico got up to get him water. After drinking the water, both of them were sitting in an awkward silence, unable to start a conversation because of what had occurred since morning.

Will sighed and raked his hand through his hair. "Why… Why would you do that? I come to apologize to you for my burst out, and find Jason running from your cabin all the while sobbing, not being able to speak properly. Then I go in to find you almost fading into the shadows. Why would you do that even after all that I had revealed about myself to you?"

"Because I am a coward. That's why." Nico replied. Will started to protest, but Nico held up his hand. "I am a coward Will. Please don't deny that. I… I don't think… I can say the words I want to tell you. It's just… here…" He held out his hand and gave Will the letter he had written. Will's face morphed from anger to love and then back to anger again. He dropped the letter, and grabbed hold of Nico's shoulder.

"My telling you that others have problems doesn't mean that your problems are lesser in its intensity. You are a brave kid, to have endured what you did at such a young age. And I have always respected you for that. And why would you think that you will hurt me?" Will said, his grip on Nico's shoulder tightening to the point of pain. But Nico didn't mind. The pain reminded him that he was alive and safe.

"Because… Because every time I love someone, they… they die WILL! And I love you way too much for me to lose you. You are the last and only thing that's holding me here, in this camp. In this world." He knew that telling Will everything, from the strength of his attraction to laying his heart out in the open, might backfire on him. He was making himself the most vulnerable person right now, but he had to do this. He had to learn to trust someone for once, and there was no one else better than Will. "And I am pretty sure, that if anything happens to you…. I… I wouldn't be able to stay alive. I don't… I don't want you to d… look. This morning I was trying to push you away. It's just, I love you…. a lot… and…"Nico took a deep breath, only to be engulfed in a huge hug from Will. He combed his hair, rubbed his back, and muttered sweet nothings in his ears, as Nico sobbed. After he calmed down a bit, he pushed back to see Will's eyes overflowing with tears.

"You know. I always thought that very same thing, that's why I was never truly close to anyone. I liked people in general, spoke to them, but that's it. I had to put a brave front for my siblings. I was always like you. But then you come into my life, and we become great friends, and I always hoped that we could be something more, but never had the courage to do so. In the past 2 years that we have been friends, I had to stop myself from going down on a knee and proposing you, or singing love ballads in your name, as cheesy as that might sound, to hugging the life out of you because you are so adorable when you sleep. I… I love you Nico Di Angelo, and would you give me the honour of being my boyfriend?"

Nico nodded, not being able to make his mouth function because of shock.

Will grins as he says, "Well. This is great. You know why?"

Nico shakes his head, as he knows that Will was going to be extremely stupid and idiotic right now.

"Because, since both of us feel, that we might be the reason for the others death, we will always be protective over the other, and can have a loooong life. Nico Di Angelo, my knight in the shining armour." Will said as he burst out laughing.

"You are a dork, William Solace." Nico said as he chuckles at Will's idiotic joke.

"Well am I your dork?"

"Yes, you are. You are mine." Nico said as he hugs Will.

Will's grin makes the world go bright, as he replies with a "And you are mine."

That night, they came out to the camp as a couple, only to be surprised with, "Wait, weren't you two already together?", "Took you guys long enough", campers fangirling (mostly the Aphrodite cabin and Jason), exchanging money (again the Aphrodite cabin, and Nico and Will's friends), to cheers of Solangelo.

Nico was surprised that people were not disgusted by them coming out as a couple, in fact they welcomed him, except for a couple of kids, glaring with jealousy at either Will or Nico.

That night, Will went out of his way to sing at the campfire, a song dedicated to Nico, and Nico retaliated with singing "You are my sunshine" for Will. The campers were surprised to hear Nico sing, cause dam that kid could sing. They cheered, and both the guys blushed at the attention from the campers.

Later that night, Nico slept in the infirmary, cause he was still tired from his shadow travelling this morning and Will wanted to keep an eye on him. They ended up cuddling and falling asleep together.