"Oh for the love of- Will. Stop moving. You're making all the sand fall."

"It's cold," Will complained, tugging his sweatshirt further around himself to try and keep out the ocean's wind. He burrowed further into the blankets that had Holly brought, nestling himself down into the sand but finding nothing but cold earth. He wrinkled his nose. "I think I'm dying."

Nico gave him an unimpressed look. "Really. That's very interesting because I was pretty sure that you were supposed to be helping."

"That was before this beach turned into Siberia."

"Would you just-"

"I'm serious! I'm dying and you've got that nice fucking jacket and I'm-"

"Oh for fucks sake." Nico said, dropping himself into the hollowed out seat next to Will and slinging an arm around Will's shoulder to yank him down into his space. Will accepted the additional body warmth with greedy hands, pushing his face into Nico's chest as Nico lifted the hood of Will's jacket and tucked it over his head. "How can you possibly be this whiney all the time?"

"I'm cold."

"Right. So that seems like a completely reasonable excuse to be unbearable."

"You say that as if I need one."

"Yeah, apparently not. Well then let me rub salt into the wound by taking this time to remind you that this was your idea."

"Because the last time we tried to do this it went horribly wrong and I kind of feel like we owe it to them."

"We don't owe them anything. I owed them something and I've paid my debts."

"Just because Pip crushes you at Mario Kart does not mean you have paid your debts, Neeks."

Nico grunted. "Whatever. Plus, you're not the one who went head-to head with that soda bottle from Tartarus." Will muffled a laugh into the leather of Nico's jacket, squeezing his arm around Nico's middle and feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest as his lungs expanded and contracted.

Will closed his eyes.

"Hey," Nico said, jabbing his fingers into Will's sides. "Tartarus is no laughing matter."

"I know, I know but the soda-splosion looked so good on you."

"Yeah well, mom didn't think it was so funny."

"That's because you dripped it all the way from the kitchen to the shower."

"How was I supposed to avoid that? I was soaked."

"I told you to take your shirt off before walking through the house but what do I know?"

"Not a lot other than a surprising amount of thinly veiled excuses to get me out of my clothes."

Will let out a puff of air. "It was a legitimate suggestion; everything else was just a bonus."

"You're gross."

"I am only human."

Nico tucked the blankets further around Will and grumbled: "Not really."

Will opened his eyes and moved his head far enough away to catch a glimpse of Nico's face. His eyes were out towards the ocean but there was colour high in his cheeks. Will grinned, fighting the urge to lean forward and push his nose against Nico's. He was being especially tactile today and Will didn't want to push it.

Days like these were rare, but Will lived for them.

"How long until the movie starts?" Nico asked.

"Hmm?" Will said. "Uh, I dunno. Maybe a few minutes? They should be back any second."

"They better be bringing popcorn. I'm starving."

"Hopefully they're bringing parkas too. And hot chocolate. And soup. And-"

"Shut up. It's not that bad."

"Not all of us are creatures of the Underworld."

"Yeah and most of us aren't gigantic wusses either."

"Rude."

Nico flicked him in the back of the head and Will buried his nose in to the collar of his jacket.

Nico had always smelled like something that Will couldn't quite place. He smelled similar to familiar things like the detergent that Will's mom washed both their clothes in, like October mornings when the air bit back and the leaves started falling to the ground. He smelled like Halloween, and frost, and the way midnight felt when they were awake and the rest of the world was asleep.

It was comforting. It was familiar.

It was dangerous. And sometimes it was all too much.

Will tried not to think about the arm around his shoulder, the steady heartbeat under his ear, and the hand that was now resting on his arm, drawing soothing circles into his sweatshirt. Will knew better, knew that this was a dangerous game to play, but he never had much sense to pull away, to say that maybe this was just one step too far because his heart could only take so much and he knows – he knows what it all means, but he couldn't bear to think it or say it out loud.

Things weren't as simple as they once were. Talking about most things had been (not easy but) doable but now there was something else. It sparked low in the pit of his stomach whenever Nico was close and it crept up into Will's chest and out to his fingertips. It consumed almost every part of him and it hurt, in a beautiful sort of way but it still made him wonder how long it would be until it burned him alive.

(But that wasn't entirely new. Nico's cold hands had always seared scars into Will's skin.)

"Ugh. You guys are gross."

Will startled at the sound of Pip's voice. Nico groaned and Will could tell, purely based on the movement of his hand, that he was already flipping Pip off from behind Will's back. Will peered over his shoulder and Pip stood with arms full of snacks and an expression of overly dramatic disgust as she mimicked Nico's gesture. Holly stood next to her, arms equally as full of snacks, giving Will an envious look before turning to Pip.

"Why don't we cuddle?"

Pip shot an unamused look at Nico. "Now look what you've done."

"Sounds like your problem, not mine."

Holly made a mocking sound and then dropped down next to Will, setting the snacks in front of her before attaching herself around Will's back and doing her best to burrow her way into their cocoon.

"Oh my god. Will, you're so warm."

Nico huffed. "You should have been here like five minutes ago. He swore he was freezing to death."

"So dramatic," Holly said into the back of Will's sweatshirt.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm a delicate creature that should have a heat lamp at all times."

Holly laughed into the fabric of Will's sweatshirt and he smiled at the sound.

Nico made an attempt to sit up, but Will clung to his side. Nico shot him a look and Will clucked his tongue before reluctantly letting go and sitting up with him. Will turned and threw an arm around Holly, squeezing her close in an attempt to steal some of her warmth as she immediately launched into a game of: "guess who I just ran into?". Will ran through just about every person in their biology class before she revealed it was the girl who sat behind Will in English and had spent the entire semester trying to get his phone number.

"She didn't see us though, thank god," Holly said. "At least, I don't think so… I mean, I assume because we didn't have to like... tell her you were dead just so she'd leave us alone."

"Which I appreciate, by the way. Just so you know."

Nico ignored them, digging through the pile of snacks and pulling out a long, clear bag that was twisted at the top. He made a face and turned to look at Will and Holly. "Popcorn?"

"Kettle corn."

"What's that?"

"It's like… sugary popcorn."

Nico looked at the bag suspiciously before shrugging his shoulders and untying it to shove a handful into his mouth. "Close enough."

Will nudged him with his foot. "Aren't you going to say thank you?"

"For what?"

"The snacks?"

"Oh," said Nico, taking a moment to pause and swallow his food before looking over at their friends. "Thanks for the food."

"You can repay us by buying pizza later," Pip said, dropping in her seat next to Holly and digging out a bag of chips. "And by letting me play as Yoshi later."

"Fuck off. No deal."

Will rolled his eyes at Nico. "So I guess this means you guys are coming over afterwards?"

"If we're invited."

"Well, Holly is, but you're-"

Will dug his elbow into Nico's side and Nico made another face before opening his mouth to show Will a mouthful of chewed up food. Will made a disgusted sound and shoved Nico's face back with an open palm. "You're a fucking barbarian." Nico swiped at his hand and Will batted him away, exasperated. "Anyway, just make sure someone tells Pip's mom this time, because if we fall asleep I don't want another repeat of last time."

"Why not? You don't want a crazy Ukrainian lady screaming at you from across the phone at 6AM?"

"I'll pass."

"Killjoy."

"Right. I'm the killjoy. Clearly I don't know anything about fun."

Nico cleared his throat. "Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black if you ask me."

"As if," Pip said. "I know all about fun, di Angelo. I know it every single time I crush you into dust at Mario Kart."

"Dust is a little dramatic."

"You're sure about that? The records say otherwise."

"Whatever. Dumb luck."

"Dumb luck that's been kicking your ass."

"I can't wait to see you cry tears of defeat tonight."

"Keep dreaming."

"I can promise you are nowhere even near my dreams."

"Fuck off."

Holly let out a long suffering sigh and dropped her head on to Will's shoulder. "Do you ever feel like we're babysitting but not getting paid?"

"Usually," Will admitted easily. "More often than not, that's for sure."

"How did this happen? We're good people."

"Bad things usually happen to good people."

"You wanna ditch these guys? Disappear? Maybe elope?"

"And here I was thinking you'd never ask."

"We can leave these idiots behind and just start over somewhere. No one has to know we were ever associated with them."

"How far are you thinking? Texas?"

"God no. Further."

"Australia?"

"Perfect."

"I want a pet wombat when we get there."

"Two. We're going to name them Andy and Ollie."

"I knew I loved you."

"Oh Will, I've always-"

"Hey," Pip interrupted, her eyes narrowed as she tugged at Holly's arm. "Don't be jerks."

"We're not. We're in love and I'm trying to plan a wedding here. Go back to arguing with your sworn enemy or whatever-"

"You don't even like guys."

"But it's Will," Holly said as if it were obvious. "He's like a golden Greek god."

From behind him, Will heard Nico aggressively choke on his popcorn. Will turned around to clamp and hand over his mouth but Nico was already hiding his face, coughing and waving his hand to dismiss their attention.

"Whatever. Either way, Will doesn't like-"

"Hey," Will said, holding up his hands in defense. "I don't discriminate."

"Yeah but you're- Ugh." Pip glared and dropped back down into her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. "Jerks. Huge jerks. And you're not helping either, di Angelo."

"Sorry," Nico rasped, still trying to clear his windpipe as he fought between coughing and laughing. Will handed him a bottle of water. "Dying."

"Weak excuse."

"So is your face."

"Really? That is the best you-"

"Oh thank god," said Holly as the beach lit up with the light of the movie projected onto the giant screen in front of them. "Shut up. Both of you. We'll settle this later."

"He's the one being an asshole."

"What did I do?! You're-"

"You're both assholes. Now again, sit down, shut up, and watch the movie."

Will snickered, letting go of Holly so the two of them could resituate themselves but Nico was already chucking sand in his direction.

"What are you laughing about?" Nico said once the four of them were in their respective spots. Will sat back, ducking his head further down to hide a chuckle into his sleeve before leaning closer to Nico's shoulder.

"You just got told," Will said in a low voice.

"Shut up."

"I'm going to tell the entire camp: 'Lord of Darkness told off by 5'6 mortal girl with ginger hair and freckles.' Clarisse is going to die."

"So will you if you say anything."

"Oooh, tough guy. So scary."

"Fuck off."

Will grinned.

Next to them, Holly was leaning into Pip's space and although Will couldn't hear what they were saying, he could hear the smile in Holly's voice. He tried his best not to listen too closely, but seeing Pip's eyes darken at the thought of Holly leaving her made Will more than a little giddy on Holly's behalf.

From across Will's lap, Nico tossed another blanket in the direction of Holly and Pip and Holly received it gratefully, throwing a wink in Nico's direction before spreading it across their legs.

Nico nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

Will wasn't entirely sure when Nico stopped being so nervous around Holly and Pip. He knew it had taken time, several encounters of awkwardness and several weekends of stilted conversation, but over time things got easier and the tension in the room began to disappear. He struggled to pinpoint the exact moment it all changed (but he kind of had the sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with a particularly stubborn bottle of two-liter soda that turned out to be explosive) but it had, and the discomfort that had existed before wasn't worth remembering.

Nico's smiles were becoming more frequent, and even though there were still nightmares and times where he would retreat back into himself, Will was patient and Nico recovered quicker each time.

This wasn't the boy who Will had met the first time he had come to camp, nor was it the same one who had years later collapsed into Will's hands. Now he was something different, something more permanent. Will hadn't known back then that he could so willingly place his heart in someone else's hands. He couldn't predict that someday that small, exhausted body of darkness would contain the heartbeat that he would treat as his own.

Nico's eyes were no longer as dark as they once were. His hair didn't hide his face as much. His limbs were so much longer than they used to be, and the body that had been so light and weak in Will's hands, was now firm and strong next to him. He was beginning to embody his Ghost King moniker, and now, in some moments, he looked downright regal.

People were beginning to notice him. It started with a girl from Will's school asking about him after Will dragged him to one of his school's theater shows. She didn't say anything at the time, but on Monday morning she was at Will's desk before he even got there and the moment he walked in she asked: "Solace. Who was your super hot friend on Friday night?"

(Completely coincidentally his backpack chose that exact moment to get caught on the back of his chair and the result was an awkward choking sound that had nothing to do with the association of Nico and super hot.)

Will awkwardly laughed at the entire situation and politely explained that he was just a friend from camp and he was only visiting.

All the time. Like every weekend.

It felt a little like lying, which it wasn't entirely. He was only visiting and he was from camp but calling Nico something as generic as friend seemed a giant disservice (and completely diplomatic response) to the way he felt about him. Holly was a friend. Pip was a friend. Lou Ellen and Cecil were friends but that was not (was absolutely not) what Nico was. There were all sorts of other complicated things that came with their not-just-friendship and Will was 100% confident that prior to Nico he had never wanted to know what it would feel like to get pressed up against a wall and he wasn't quite sure what that meant.

(Except for the fact that he did. Will wasn't an idiot. He knew that instead of telling that girl: "Oh, he's just a friend from camp visiting for the weekend" what he should have said was: "He's my best friend who I've been dreaming of since we were like fourteen so please, kindly, back the fuck up.")

(In hindsight, the response he had given her was probably just as good.)

Nico had yet to catch on to his newly acquired fame but Will was more aware than ever. More than once Will had caught girls nearly breaking their necks to have a double-take as he walked by and although it stirred something green and envious in his stomach, Will couldn't blame them. He was guilty of staring just as openly and it wasn't as if Nico belonged to him.

He knew Nico had caught him staring (much more than he was proud of) but he never called him out, never told him it made him uncomfortable, and when Will let himself be optimistic, he thought that maybe it was because Nico did the same when he wasn't looking.

Maybe – just a completely hypothetical maybe – Will wasn't the only one who wondered what it would have felt like to kiss his best friend the night they had argued.

(He had been close – so close – and Will still wondered, over and over again, if he hadn't pulled back, would Nico have leaned forward?)

Will's chest swelled. His heart pattered irregularly against his ribs and instinctively his eyes flicked to Nico's wrist where his bracelet was covered by the sleeves of his jacket. Will dropped his head onto Nico's shoulder, burying his face into the fabric of his hood, feeling stupid, and embarrassed, and overwhelmingly glad to be alive.

This is fine, Will thought. We can stay just like this. I don't need anything else.

Nico shifted his shoulder. He nudged it upward twice in what Will assumed was an attempt to get his attention, but Will stayed buried into his jacket. This was not the time. He couldn't look at Nico when he felt like this.

"Hey," Nico whispered, reaching over to adjust the hood around Will's head. "You okay?"

Will nodded.

"You still cold?"

Will shook his head and thought: You're my everything. Please don't let me screw this up.

"You sure?"

I'm so happy it hurts. Will nodded.

"What's wrong?"

Everything. Nothing. I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

"Nothing," Will whispered back at last, lifting his head just enough to catch the reflection of the movie in Nico's eyes. "I'm just… really… really happy."

Nico paused and Will hoped for some type of witty remark. He needed something to bring his heartrate back to normal, something to tell him: we're just friends, this is all normal and not something that would make Will wonder if Nico tasted as much like October as he smelled. Nico said nothing though and then after a moment, he slowly lifted an arm and wrapped it around Will's shoulders, pulling him close.

"Good," Will heard a long while later, the word so quiet that Will thought he might have been imagining it over the sound of the movie if it hadn't been for the hand that sought his under the folds of blankets. He fumbled their hands together, tucking them deep beneath the covers and keeping them hidden from view. Nico turned his eyes back to the movie screen and in a calm, level voice said: "Me too."

Will's heart stopped racing and all he could do was smile. He flicked his eyes over to Holly and Pip who were nestled in their own world of comfort and when he looked back to Nico, he had the smallest of smirks on his face. Will nudged him with his elbow and he heard Nico breathe a small laugh through his nose.

This is fine, he thought, breathing in the scent laundry detergent, frost, and Halloween. This is all that matters. This is all I need.

From under the blankets, Nico's hand gave his a quick squeeze and Will smiled to himself, turning back to the movie and wondering if maybe someday he would find out what October tasted like.

Notes:

*Seven versions later* I don't even care. I'm just glad this portion of the series is over. Now moving on...