Will made his way across camp, passing the training arena and the cabins, until he reached the Big House. Nico stood, training another batch of young campers down at the training arena. While he did a good job at hiding his emotions with other campers, Will was able to see past the apathetic exterior of his sullen boyfriend, he needed a break. Where Will was able to head back to Austin when he wasn't at camp, Nico stayed there all year, that is unless he decided he wanted to go to the Underworld instead. Will made it to the large porch of the Big House where Chiron sat, reading a book.
"Hello Chiron!" Will called out and waved his hand as he approached.
"Hello to you too Will!" Chiron called back and looked up from his book. He quietly moved his bookmark into place, since most random visits from demigods usually meant the end of whatever he was doing in that moment. "And to what pleasure do you come hiking all the way up here?" Chiron smiled as he assumed Will was going to ask for something.
"What do you mean?" Will blushed slightly as he attempted to play up his innocence. "The infirmary is up here, so I walk this route regularly."
"We both know that it is Austin's turn to man the Infirmary," Chiron chuckled. He sat his book down on the small table next to him. "I assume you need something?"
"Well," Will started, since he knew, he wasn't going to get anything past Chiron at this point. "I was wondering if I could ask something out of the ordinary?"
"I'm not a mind reader," Chiron said and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You are always more than welcome to ask."
"You know how Nico doesn't leave camp?" Will asked, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head.
"I do," Chiron answered. "At least when he decides to stay in the land of the living."
"So camp really isn't camp to him," Will explained, hoping that he was making sense to Chiron. "It's home. The rest of us get to go home after the summer, but he doesn't. Would it be possible to take him on a summer vacation, like a long weekend?"
"And where do you propose this vacation take place?" Chiron asked with a smirk. "I also suppose you'd be the one taking him?"
"Well yeah," Will blushed and rocked back and forth on his heels. "And my plan was to take him to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. It isn't too far from here, all things considered, and they are a LGBTQ+ friendly beach, so us being together won't cause any more attention than it should."
"And who would take your place as the head counselor while you're gone?" Chiron asked.
"I know that both Kayla and Austin are up for it," Will answered with assurance. "I can even divide up their roles between the cabin and the Infirmary to make it easier on them."
"How long do you plan on staying at the beach?" Chiron asked another question.
"My hopes are for a week," Will answered. "But knowing Nico, probably a little shorter, I doubt all that sun will agree with him." Will chuckled as he thought about Nico laying on a towel on the beach.
"I doubt he'd enjoy all that sun," Chiron chuckled. "Very well." Chiron stood up from his seated position and walked around to the front door. "I'll have Argus get the van ready and set up your accommodations. You'll leave after supper tonight, that way you can awaken to a fresh day at the beach."
"Thank you so much!" Will practically jumped up and down as he smiled from ear to ear. "I'll go tell Nico about it now!"
Will took off running back towards the training arena, not caring who saw him or how goofy he appeared with that giant smile on his face. He ran down the steps of the arena and when he made it to the ground, his feet slid out from underneath him and he faceplanted into the dirt in front of Nico and a group of young campers.
"You alright there sunshine?" Nico asked through his laughter, joined by the laughing of all the young campers in the arena with him. He walked over and lent a hand to help Will stand up and brush off.
"I'm more than fine," Will huffed out. He took a deep breath and refocused himself to tell Nico the good news. "Head back to your cabin and pack things to wear to the beach!" Will all but yelled out the news due to his excitement. "Chiron has agreed to let us go on an actual vacation!"
Nico sort of stared bewildered at Will. "I don't think I have any beach clothes," he finally said in a soft voice. He placed the tip of his sword on the ground, letting it dig into the soft dirt and leaned on the pommel.
"No problem Death Boy!" Will replied with a huge smile. "We can spend the first part of our day getting what we need from a store on the boardwalk." Will pulled Nico in for a tight hug, earning a few "Ahhhs…" from the crowd of young campers.
"Yeah yeah," Nico attempted to sound more sullen and adverse to affection than he actually was, as he attempted to pry himself out of Will's arms. His face showed a different story, as he blushed from ear to ear and had a smile plastered on his face. "I'll head back to my cabin and pack a bag. How long is this trip?"
"Chiron agreed to a week," Will explained, finally letting Nico go, but making sure to help shield his face, not letting the younger campers see the "vulnerability" of affection in his boyfriend. "But we don't have to stay that long if we don't want to."
"I'm willing to give it a try," Nico relented. "But don't think I'm suddenly going to be a sunbather or anything like that."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Will chuckled, he then turned to face the other campers. "Sorry to cut your lesson short for today, but we need to get going now."
The two of them waved goodbye to their audience and made their way to their respective cabins to pack a bag. They met up again around supper time, once Will got everything for his cabin and the Infirmary set up and Nico got a member of the Ares cabin to take over for the basic weapons training. They both sat at the Apollo table, since Nico had a doctor's note letting him do so.
"Got everything packed?" Will asked Nico as they finished up their supper.
"As much as I can," Nico admitted. "I don't have a whole lot when it comes to beach stuff."
"Not a problem!" Will exclaimed as they made their way from the supper table up to the Big House. "We can stop at the boardwalk first thing in the morning and grab anything we don't have."
The two of them made their way up to Chiron, who handed them money and the information on the hotel they were staying at. He then directed them to Argus and the van transporting them to the beach. All-in-all, the drive would take about 5 hours to get there, depending on traffic, bathroom stops, and the like. The two of them jumped into the middle seat of the van, buckled up, and made their way to Nico's first ever vacation in this century.
The sun was already beyond the horizon when they pulled up to their hotel. Streetlamps softly buzzed as moths flocked to them, providing only artificial light for Will and Nico as they walked into the hotel with their stuff. Argus checked them in, posing as the adult in the room, so check-in purposes, and thanks to heavily using the Mist to help them. The two boys carried their things up to the room, after saying their goodbyes to Argus, and flopped down on their own respective queen-sized beds.
"Ready for a fun-filled day of sun, sand, and excitement?!" Will asked as he sprawled out on the soft sheets.
"I'll take your word for it that this is exciting," Nico chuckled as he also stretched out on his own bed. "These beds are way more comfortable than the beds at camp anyway."
"These beds are only the beginning," Will softly replied. He quickly set an alarm for 8 in the morning before both would be visited by Morpheus. Then their night quickly dissolved to darkness.
Will woke up to the shrill sound of his alarm. He jolted slightly and saw that Nico was also beginning to stir from his sleep. "I'll hop in the shower and get changed," Will yawned as he sat up. He moved a lot quicker than Nico in the morning, must have been his genes. "Then you can get one and we can get a move on for the day."
Nico groaned in response and rolled back over to catch some more sleep. Will simply chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair on his way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, brushing his teeth, and putting on a pair of khaki shorts and an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. He stepped out of the bathroom and saw Nico sitting on the edge of his bed, barely awake.
"Good morning!" Will said a bit too enthusiastically.
"Why did you set an alarm for 8 o'clock?" Nico demanded as soon as he made eye contact with Will. "I thought vacation was about relaxing?"
"It is," Will answered, keeping his tune as cheerful as ever. "Now get ready so we can go get some breakfast before we hit the boardwalk."
Nico shuffled his feet into the bathroom and Will went about making sure their money was in order and going over what they could do for their vacation. Nico made his way out of the bathroom, with his jeans and black t-shirt. He still had his towel in hand and was patting his hair dry.
"What about the beach made you think jeans?" Will asked sarcastically and chuckled when he saw Nico.
"I haven't been to the beach in a very long time!" Nico defended himself, blushing and looking down at his clothing.
"I'm picking on you," Will relented and went over and hugged Nico. "I'll lay off the teasing for a bit."
Nico melted into the hug and felt his cheeks still burning with his blush. "Sorry," Nico whispered into Will's shoulder. "I'm just not a morning person."
"It's alright," Will hugged him tightly. "I forget that everyone isn't a morning person like I am. I will change the alarm for the following mornings. Just let me know what time is good for you."
Nico silently thought about a good time, but he also didn't want to drag Will down through this whole vacation. "8 o'clock is good," Nico sighed. "We'll just have to go sleep at a decent hour."
"Sounds good Death Boy!" Will exclaimed and they moved down to their continental breakfast.
The two of them ate a well-balanced meal, thanks to Will telling Nico the importance of proper nutrition, which Nico both loved and hated. He never thought being in a relationship would be both confining and freeing at the same time but having someone around all the time was a lot better than constantly being alone and hunted.
Once they finished their breakfast, Will showed Nico the boardwalk. He had never seen so many people all packed in one place, and the dead in the Fields of Asphodel didn't count. People were talking, laughing, and playing games. There was even a small amusement park on the boardwalk. Rows upon rows of stores, restaurants, and tattoo/piercing parlors lined the beach. It wasn't until they had been walking together for a few minutes that Nico noticed that a lot of the couples here were two men, two women, and three or more people, on top of the traditional guy and girl pairing. A husband and wife walked by with their teen son and his boyfriend in tow, all completely normal and enjoying themselves.
"Is there a particular reason that you brought me here?" Nico asked as Will was watching him people watch.
"I've never been to this beach before," Will explained, scratching the back of his neck to distract from his nerves. "I read online that this beach was very LGBTQ+ friendly and I figured if we wanted to have a vacation as a couple, it should be someplace where you feel comfortable being who you are. Is that alright?"
"It's perfectly fine," Nico whispered as he blushed. He reached over and took Will's hand in his own. "I guess if we are on vacation as a couple, then we need to look the part."
Will was head over heels with the turn of events, they walked proudly up and down the boardwalk. They stopped to buy Nico swim trunks, which really surprised Nico since they now had some sort of mesh lining inside, nothing like he remembered way back in Italy. They spent the entire week waking up each morning at 8, eating at so many places, they both felt like they were going to vomit, swimming in the ocean, and playing in the sand. Will even helped a man who was drowning, hiding his vitakinesis under his breath as a tune he hummed. But of course, things that are fun come to an end.
"Are we going to do that again next year?" Nico asked as they climbed into the van to head back to camp.
"I am more than happy to do this every year with you," Will smiled from ear to ear.
They leaned forward to kiss each other as the sun set on their drive back to Camp Half-Blood.