This was inspired by the sweetie curse which is mentioned in Camp Half-Blood Confidential. As soon as I read it, I knew it was going to be a Solangelo story. It's my first proper romance story for them which is exciting. I do not own PJO. Hope you enjoy!

'You can't tell me you guys have never heard of the Sweetie Curse!'

It was a warm summer evening at Camp Half-Blood. Valentina Diaz threw a scrutinising stare round the room at her cabin mates, who were getting ready for bed.

'Um, nope, sorry Val,' said Piper, who was brushing the knots out of her hair after a long day of training.

'Drew?'

Drew was sitting on her bed removing her pink eyeliner.

'Uhh…maybe?'

'What is the Sweetie Curse, Valentina?' asked Lacy curiously. Valentina beamed.

'I'm sooo glad you asked. You know how certain cabins can curse other campers? Like when the Apollo kids made people speak in rhyming couplets?'

'Uh-huh,' said Mitchell, listening intently.

'Well, years ago, before any of us came to camp, our brothers and sisters did one where anyone with a secret crush would have to call their crush 'Sweetie!'' Valentina told them.

'Oh, wow. That does sound entertaining,' said Mitchell, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

'Doesn't surprise me at all,' laughed Piper as she started fastening her choppy hair into a braid for bed. The rest of the cabin had all perked up their ears and were listening.

'So what do you think, guys? We should totally try it!' Valentina's heart was beating rapidly. As a year-round camper, she always found summer very exciting, not being used to having the camp so full of demigods. Now seemed like the perfect time for fun and mischief.

'Are you just trying to get Paolo to admit he likes you?' Lacy giggled. 'Because I'm sure you could do that without a curse.'

'Come to think of it,' said Drew, who had begun to slather a face mask onto her now bare skin, 'I'd love to know who has a secret crush on me.'

'I sure hope no one has one on me,' Piper shuddered. 'Because this girl is taken.'

'I can think of a lot that could go wrong,' said Mitchell apprehensively. 'I bet loads of people at camp have secret crushes.'

'Or maybe a lot could go right!' argued Valentina. 'I can think of a few campers who could do with admitting their feelings for each other.'

'Ooh like Travis and Katie!' piped up one of the younger girls.

'Or…how about Will Solace and Nico di Angelo?' suggested Lacy. Everyone giggled, their eyes gleaming mischievously. It was obvious the two boys had been dancing around each other all summer. This might just be the push in the right direction that they needed.

'Okay. If we're going to do this,' said Piper, 'We need to define 'secret crush'. Are we talking about a crush that nobody knows about, or one that the person is trying to keep a secret?'

'One that they're trying to keep a secret,' said Drew as she finished applying her face mask. 'As children of love, we know about most crushes that happen around here, so it wouldn't work otherwise.'

'And we might get in trouble,' Piper reminded her siblings. 'Are you all willing to do whatever punishment Mr D gives us? Bearing in mind it might involve mucking out Pegasus stables.'

'As long as we can shower afterwards,' said Lacy.

'All right,' Valentina grinned, rubbing her manicured hands together. Then she hesitated. 'Um…does anyone actually know how to do it?'

'All right, listen up,' Drew announced. 'This curse is gonna be a powerful one, since two of us have Charmspeak in addition to the rest of our powers. How long do we want it to last?'

'About a week,' said Mitchell. 'That should be long enough.'

'Okay, everyone get in a circle and hold hands.' Everyone got up off their beds and gathered round eagerly. 'Here's what we do…'

Nico groaned as his alarm went off. He always struggled with early mornings, even when it was bright sunshine outside. Why did breakfast have to be at 8am? Last night's campfire had been a long one and it had been late when he'd gone to bed. Nico was very much a night owl – unlike a certain blond who had cropped up in his dream yet again. He dragged himself reluctantly out of bed and pulled on his black clothes and aviator jacket despite the heat.

Feeling the morning sun wash over him just made him even more sleepy. Thankfully he would be sitting alone at the Hades table with nobody he'd be expected to talk to.

He was on the way back from dropping a small piece of toast in the bronze brazier for his father when Austin and Kayla from the Apollo cabin stepped in front of him.

'Um, hey.' Austin smiled awkwardly.

'Um…hi?' Nico threw a glance over his shoulder to make sure they were definitely talking to him, and then looked at them expectantly.

'We thought you might like to sit with us today,' Kayla said brightly. 'You seemed lonely at that table all by yourself.'

'Oh…' Nico wasn't in the mood to socialise. But he felt awkward saying no. Not to mention…the thought of getting to sit at the same table with a certain head counsellor caused his skeletal butterflies to pay him a visit. 'Um, okay. Why not.'

He went to the Apollo table and sat down. He nibbled anxiously on a crust, and lost his appetite altogether when he saw Will jogging over from the direction of the infirmary. It occurred to him a little too late that Austin and Kayla were probably trying to set the two of them up.

'Hey guys. Oh!' Will's face lit up like the sun when he spotted Nico at their table.

'We asked him to sit with us,' said Kayla. 'I hope that's OK.'

'More than OK.' Will sat next to Nico and said, 'Morning di Angelo,' before taking a swig of orange juice.

'Morning, Sweetie.'

'PFFFFFFFFFT!'

Will spat his orange juice all over a very disgruntled Austin who had the misfortune to be sitting opposite him.

'Ewww! Solace! What did you do that for?'

'I'm – I'm sorry Austin.' Will coughed and spluttered, then rounded on Nico, eyebrows raised. 'What did you just call me?'

'Um…Sunshine?' Nico felt like his cheeks were on fire. 'I mean…great weather we're having? Right?'

Will just blinked a few times, his mouth hanging slightly open. Nico was mortified. What in Hades had possessed him to call Will Sweetie? Now Will would know all about the crush he'd been keeping secret for weeks.

'Uhhh…I…think I'd better sit at my own table. That's the rules, after all,' he stammered and picked up his plate. Will looked disappointed.

'Oh. Okay.'

'Okay. I'll – see you around.' Nico made a run for it and power-walked back to his table. He was so embarrassed that he didn't notice the whispers and giggles coming from the Aphrodite table. He sat with his back to everyone. What had that been about?

The rest of the morning was fairly normal. Something felt off though. There was a weird kind of buzz around camp. There seemed to be more arguments…and more laughter. Strange.

Slashing and stabbing with his sword, scaling the climbing wall, and shooting arrows at targets was almost enough to make Nico forget his embarrassing encounter with his crush. After lunch, he headed to the amphitheatre to listen in on the music lessons. Playing instruments wasn't his thing, but listening wasn't the worst thing in the world.

After about half an hour, a young camper came up to him with her arm in a sling, carrying a piece of paper with her other hand.

'I've been asked to give you this,' she said nervously. Nico took the paper. It was a message for him in a familiar hand.

These bandages aren't going to cut themselves, di Angelo.

He grinned, warm relief spreading through him. That was Will's way of asking for help. Thank the gods he still wanted to spend time with him after what had happened that morning.

'Thanks.' He pocketed the note and headed over to the infirmary.

'You two need to learn to practise sword fighting on the dummies and not on each other,' Will scolded as he patched up the wounds of Sherman Yang and Ellis Wakefield from the Ares cabin.

'What use is that?' Sherman scoffed. 'Why practise on something that can't hit back?'

'Yeah, your enemy on the battlefield isn't going to stand nice and still for you,' agreed his brother.

Will rolled his eyes.

'Just try not to maim each other too badly, then. Get some better armour or something. This is hard work, you know.' He heard the sound of the door swinging open and his heart leapt. Hopefully it was Nico. The same Nico who'd called him Sweetie at breakfast and made his heart nearly explode out of his chest.

Sure enough, standing in the doorway was the one and only son of Hades. Will smiled broadly and locked eyes with him.

'Hi Sweetie!' he exclaimed.

A dark shadow fell over Nico's face, and he frowned. Oh no! Will gulped. He wasn't entirely sure what had made him say that, but it was obvious that Nico now thought he was making fun of him. He cleared his throat.

'I mean…hi Nico. Would you cut those for me?' He pointed to the pile of bandages. Nico threw him a dirty look.

'Sure, Sweetie. I mean…Solace.'

The two boys gaped at each other for a few seconds. Ellis and Sherman began to snigger.

'Are you guys dating?' Sherman asked.

'No!' Nico yelped. He coughed. 'No,' he said in a deeper voice. Will felt his heart sink a little.

'Riiiiiight.' The two boys didn't look convinced as they hid their laughter behind their hands.

Nico hastily began cutting the bandages. He did a poor job and chopped them unevenly, but Will didn't complain. He quickly patched them up and sent them on their way. Hopefully they wouldn't go and start rumours about him and Nico dating. Although, it wouldn't be so bad if they did…

'Bye.'

Will was surprised to see Nico heading for the door.

'Oh…leaving so soon?'

'I promised Chiron I'd help set up for Capture the Flag tonight.'

'Oh…okay. Thanks for helping out, Nico. I really appreciate it.'

'Whatever.' Nico closed the door a little too forcefully. Will sighed and ran a hand through his sun-bleached hair.

What was going on? Nico had called him 'Sweetie' and gotten upset when he'd said it back. And when he himself had said it, it had been like his mouth had moved of its own accord. He hadn't planned it at all. He narrowed his eyes. It was time to pay a visit to some of his friends around camp…

Nico trudged miserably back to the Hades cabin, stormed inside, and flopped on his bed, staring grumpily up at the dark ceiling. What he'd told Will about setting up for Capture the Flag was a lie. He'd just wanted to get away from him.

Had Will brought him over to the infirmary just to make fun of him? That didn't seem like him at all. Will cared about him. Didn't he?

'I'm being stupid,' he told himself as he set off for dinner after a few hours of brooding. Of course Will wouldn't make fun of him. He must have been doing it to make him feel better. That was what he did best, after all. Nico had made a fool of himself by calling Will 'Sweetie' so Will had done the same.

And why had he called Will 'Sweetie' in the first place? The first time, he'd decided he'd done it by accident because he was so tired. But why had he now done it twice?

A good game of Capture the Flag would take his mind off it. But he would be choosing not to join the same side as the Apollo cabin.

For the next two days, things went on in a similar way.

'Morning, Ghost King,' greeted Will as he and Nico were paired up for sparring practice.

'Hi Sweetie.' Nico wished he could sew his mouth shut. Will just looked as if he was trying not to laugh. There was something about his expression that suggested he knew something Nico didn't. It was infuriating.

Later that afternoon, they ran into each other yet again in the art room. They ran into each other 'by total coincidence' around camp on a regular basis, at which nobody ever complained – until now. Every time Will would address Nico by one of his old nicknames – this time it was 'Lord of Darkness' – and every time Nico would respond by calling Will 'Sweetie.' He couldn't for the life of him figure out why it was happening. Will didn't seem to mind, nor did he look confused or surprised. He never questioned it, and often moved the conversation onto something else so as not to draw too much attention to it. But not once did he say it back, which made Nico's heart sink. Whatever was happening to him obviously wasn't affecting Will in the same way.

Nico sat at the Hades table in the empty dining pavilion, resting his head in his hands. The last few days had been totally embarrassing.

Suddenly, he felt the bench shift slightly as someone sat next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a bright orange T-shirt, some deeply tanned skin and blonde hair. He squeezed his lips together as his stomach started doing backflips. However, he needn't have worried. The voice that greeted him was female.

'Hey there, Nico. You seem a little blue.'

Nico looked up.

'Oh, hey, Annabeth. You could say that, yeah.'

'What's getting you down?'

'Uhh…' He thought he might as well tell her. He had nothing to lose at this point. 'Things are…going weird with Will.'

Annabeth didn't look surprised at this information. It seemed everyone did know about his crush.

'Weird how?'

'This is probably going to sound crazy.'

She raised her eyebrows in a very Athena-like way.

'After everything I've been through, nothing is going to shock me.'

'Fair point.' He sighed. 'Well…every time I see him I accidentally call him 'Sweetie'. I don't know what makes me do it. It just happens.'

'You know…it's funny you should say that. I've heard a few people calling each other 'Sweetie' these last few days.'

Nico was taken aback. Clearly he needed to socialise more.

'Really?'

'Yes. A few people have said it to Percy. And I've heard it being thrown around the place. I'm starting to think there's been a curse.'

'A curse?' Nico was confused. When he thought of curses, he thought about the one his father had placed on the Oracle of Delphi. 'You'd think I'd recognise dark magic.'

'Not all curses are dark, Nico. You remember the rhyming couplet curse?'

'Uh, no.'

'Right, I don't think you were there for that. Apollo's cabin cursed the Ares cabin so that they could only speak in rhyming couplets. And the Ares cabin retaliated by turning their arrows into rubber. It would have been quite entertaining, had we not been on the brink of an impending war.'

'Oh. Right.' Nico found the idea of Apollo's cabin doing a curse very odd. Maybe he'd have to think twice about getting on the wrong side of Will in case he ended up spouting poetry. 'So you think people are calling each other 'Sweetie' because of a curse?'

'That's exactly what I think.'

'But why?'

Annabeth's grey eyes sparkled.

'Well…I may be wrong, but it seems to be working on people who are, well…' She paused. 'In love.'

'In – love?' Nico swallowed. He was in love with Will?

'Or at least,' Annabeth waved a hand dismissively, 'have a crush of some sorts.'

'Right.' There was an awkward silence.

'And it doesn't take a genius to guess whose cabin is behind it.'

Nico gritted his teeth.

'Aphrodite's.'

'Exactly.' She got up and beckoned for him to follow. 'I think it's time to pay a visit to Cabin Ten.'

Nico nodded and followed, trying to contain his anger. He'd completely embarrassed himself in front of the love of his life because of some silly trick from Aphrodite's children? After all that humiliation he'd had to suffer at the hands of Cupid? Rage boiled inside him.

'So, have you and Percy been calling each other 'Sweetie'?' he asked, eager to get the subject off himself.

'No, we haven't. Which makes me think it's more specific than that. We're already in a relationship, so it's not worked on us. I haven't heard Jason and Piper saying it, either.'

'So it's people who have a crush on each other but aren't dating?'

'Or haven't confessed their feelings. Have you told Will you like him?'

'Absolutely not.'

'There you go then.'

They had reached the door of Aphrodite's cabin. Nico banged angrily on the pink door.

Drew, Valentina, and Lacy were sitting on one of the beds, giggling.

'This is so much fun,' said Valentina. 'I've heard tons of people calling each other 'Sweetie'!'

'Travis and Katie are so confused,' laughed Lacy. 'Katie thought it was a prank at first. But then she started saying it back!' They all fell about on the bed chortling.

Suddenly there came a sharp rapping at the door.

'Let us in!' yelled a male voice. The three girls froze.

'Is that who I think it is?' Valentina asked worriedly.

'Open up. We know you're in there,' came the commanding voice of Annabeth Chase.

'Oh dear.' They all glanced nervously at each other, wondering if the bathroom would be big enough for the three of them to hide in.

'Open the door or I'll break it down,' came the boy's voice again. Lacy squealed and scurried over to the door. Luckily for her, it opened inwards, so she was able to hide behind it and save coming face to face with a very angry Nico di Angelo.

'What have you done?' Nico looked like he was about to unleash a skeleton army on them. Shadows began to bend ominously around him even though the sun was shining.

'What are you talking about?' Drew tried to say nonchalantly. Annabeth put her hands on her hips.

'Give it up, Drew. We know you guys have cursed the camp.'

'C-c-cursed the c-c-amp?' echoed Valentina guiltily. 'Would we do such a thing?'

'Who else would make people call each other 'Sweetie'?'

'Okay, it was us,' Valentina confessed with a high-pitched squeak. Nico's dark eyes narrowed threateningly.

'You have to take your stupid curse back now. Right now!' he snarled.

'No can do,' said Drew. 'But if it makes you feel any better, it only lasts a week. Half of which is over already.'

Nico thought back over the last few days.

'Friday. The day it first started was Friday. And now it's Monday.'

'Yep. We cast the curse at midnight on Thursday.'

'Okay. So this Thursday at midnight everything will go back to normal?'

'Yes. We promise.'

'See.' Annabeth looked reassuringly at Nico, after shaking her head at the Aphrodite cabin. 'That's not so bad, is it Nico?'

'I suppose.' Nico made a mental plan to send some sort of Underworldly creature after the whole cabin as soon as possible. Something that would terrify them and/or gross them out. A hellhound, perhaps. Or a zombie. Or maybe he could even bribe one of the Fury sisters…

'What we'd like to know,' Annabeth continued, 'is how exactly does this curse work?'

'It works on anyone with a secret crush,' piped up Lacy, stepping out from behind the door. 'You call the object of your affection 'Sweetie' if you're actively trying to hide your feelings from them.'

'Great. So if I just avoid Will at all costs until Thursday at midnight…' Nico began.

'Or…stop trying to hide your feelings from him,' suggested Annabeth.

'What!? You mean…no. I couldn't. I mean…I wouldn't know how to…'

'Sure you would. You've done it before.'

Nico flushed.

'That was because I didn't have that crush anymore,' he said through gritted teeth. 'I couldn't possibly ask Will out!'

'Of course you can,' Drew said suddenly. 'You love him and he loves you.'

A warm feeling suddenly spread through Nico, making him feel faint and dizzy.

'I love him and he loves me,' he said blankly.

'Yes,' Drew continued encouragingly. 'And if you go and ask him out, he'll say yes.'

'He'll…' Nico smiled goofily. 'He'll say yes.'

'That's right. And Annabeth, don't you need to get back to your cabin?'

Annabeth looked confused.

'I need to…get back to my cabin.' She turned and left. Drew gave her retreating back a satisfied smile.

'Run along then, Nico,' she said sweetly. 'Go and ask Will to be your boyfriend.'

'My boyfriend. Right! I'll do that!' Nico stumbled giddily out of the cabin.

'Drew!' Lacy yelped. 'Won't that make things worse?'

'Nah.' Drew uncapped her eyeliner pen once more. 'He'll be thanking us later.'

Nico made a beeline for the Apollo cabin. This was it! He was going to ask Will to be his boyfriend! The thought made him giggle.

He threw open the door.

'Will!' he yelled. Will looked up in surprise from where he was sitting on his bed reading a medicine textbook.

'Uh…Nico!' He smiled his brilliant smile. 'To what do I owe the pleasure?'

'Will you be my…' Nico froze abruptly as he came back to his senses. Where had that sudden confidence boost come from? Then he realised. That witch had been Charmspeaking him!

'Will I be your what?' The son of Apollo was looking at him in hopeful disbelief.

'Um…doctor?' Why, gods, why? He thought as his face flamed.

Will gave a confused chuckle.

'I'm already your doctor, Nico. I've treated you enough times. You know that.'

'Right. Just messing with you. Well…goodbye Sweetie!' He turned and bolted out the door. Will gaped after him. What were they up to now?

Right, he thought as he marched over to the training grounds the next day. If I just avoid him, it'll all be fine.

Unfortunately for him, fate had other ideas. He managed to burn himself rather badly on the climbing wall, and he knew all too well what would come next.

Sure enough, when Chiron saw his scorched arm he said:

'You'd better go and get that treated, Nico.'

Nico scowled.

'Fine.'

He traced the familiar path to the infirmary, nerves building up inside him. He was one of the most powerful demigods in existence. Surely he could resist a silly curse from some silly Aphrodite kids. And when it was over, he would get his own back on all of them. Especially Drew.

Hesitantly, he pushed the door open. Thankfully, it was empty apart from Will. At least there was nobody else to embarrass himself in front of. Will looked up, concern flickering in his eyes.

'Nico? Is everything okay?'

'Hey…um…uh…' Nico clenched his fists and attempted to resist the curse. A tingly feeling spread through him, making him tremble. The room started spinning. He swayed slightly, as if he'd just shadow-travelled.

'Nico?' Will was still looking concerned, but his lips were curling slightly.

'Y-yes. Hi…Dolcezza.'

As quickly as it had come, the feeling washed away and was replaced with even more burning shame. Great. As if things couldn't get any worse, he'd now called Will 'Sweetie' in Italian.

'Well, that's good to hear.' Will walked over and patted his shoulder, a smile fighting its way onto his mouth. 'I thought for a moment you were going to pass out on me. You haven't been using your powers, have you?'

'Nope. I haven't.' Nico had a feeling Will knew perfectly well that he had not been using his powers, and what he'd just called him.

'So, is there a reason you're here?'

'Yeah.' Nico brought his injured arm out from behind his back. Will sucked in his breath through his teeth.

'Ouch. Climbing wall?'

'Mmm.'

'Come here, Death Boy. I'll set you right in no time.'

Will put a hand on the small of Nico's back and led him over to a chair. Nico's heart fluttered as it always did when Will acted as his doctor and called him nicknames. He relaxed as he bathed the burn in cold water, applied some cream, hummed a sweet little healing song, and gave him a tiny bite of ambrosia. It tasted of McDonald's apple pie (Will did not need to know that). Soon there was no trace of a burn left on his arm at all.

'Thanks.' He managed a grateful smile.

'Anytime, Nico. Anytime at all.'

Will's blue eyes twinkled kindly. Nico gulped. Why did he always have to fall for boys with the most beautiful eyes?

'Um…see you around then.'

'Goodbye. Try not to injure yourself again, di Angelo. I know how accident prone you are.'

'I'll try.'

As Nico left the infirmary, his heart rate a little too high for his liking, he examined the clear skin on his arm. Will really was a miracle-worker. At least he was no longer burned, even if he was still cursed…for now.

After what felt like several millennia, Thursday evening finally came. Nico pushed some marshmallows onto a skewer and took a seat in the front row next to Percy and Jason. Only a few more hours and then it would all be over. He turned the stick over a few times, feeling the heat from the fire warming his face.

Apollo's cabin led the sing-along as usual, which was good news for Nico because Will was kept busy. When the last song was over and everyone slowly began to head off to bed, Nico planned to make a quick getaway but was thwarted in his plan by Austin and Kayla who came and sat on either side of him, pinning him in. They talked at him for about an hour about anything and everything – saxophone techniques, archery, the Olympics - and when they were done they quizzed him on all aspects of his powers. By the end of this, Nico was seriously annoyed. But then suddenly, the two demigods glanced around and saw the nearly-empty amphitheatre.

'I'm super-tired,' said Kayla, giving what looked like a fake yawn. 'We'd better go to bed.'

'Good idea,' said Austin. They both scurried off into the night, leaving Nico seething. He was about to get up and leave when:

'Hi, Nico.'

'Hey Sweetie.' The words slipped out of Nico before he'd even turned to look at the boy next to him. He facepalmed. 'Ugh. I'm so sorry.'

'It's okay.' Will sat next to him. The light from the dying fire was dancing in his bright blue eyes. 'It's actually not your fault.'

'You mean…you know about the curse too?'

'Of course I do. I guessed you weren't doing it on purpose. Funnily enough, I didn't have you down as someone who calls people 'Sweetie'.'

'No kidding.'

'I figured something magical was going on, so I went and spoke to the Hecate cabin. Lou Ellen and the others said they'd sensed a curse had been cast by the Aphrodite kids. So I went and grabbed Mitchell and got him to tell me.' He paused for a few seconds, and then said: 'So... secret crush, huh?'

Nico buried his face in his hands.

'Kill me now,' he muttered.

'I'd really rather not.' Will was grinning. 'That would go against my job as a healer, don't you think?'

'Will. I'm serious. I've been through enough humiliation in my life. If you're here to make fun of me, just…just go away. Please.'

'I'm not here to make fun of you. It's about time we talked through this. Please don't push me away. And don't even think about shadow travelling.' His eyes, which missed nothing, had noticed Nico glancing at the darkness enveloping them.

Nico sighed.

'Fine. But I don't see what there is to talk about, since you obviously don't feel the same way.'

'And what makes you say that?' Will folded his arms.

'Well…you haven't been saying it back. It's just me that's been saying it to you.'

'Nico…how much do you know about the curse?'

'That if you have a secret crush you call them 'Sweetie'.'

'Exactly. The keyword being secret. It only works if you're really trying to hide how you feel. The only time I called you 'Sweetie' was in front of those Ares kids, remember? They laughed at us both and we were totally embarrassed, right?'

'Um…yeah, I s'pose.'

'Nico…' Will put an arm round him. Nico tensed a little but didn't object. 'That was the only time I was trying to hide it.'

'You were…you were…I thought you were just saying it to make me feel better.'

Will gave a tiny scoff.

'And I thought you were intelligent. Obviously not, it seems.' He squeezed his arm a little tighter. 'I like you, Nico. I've been trying to tell you.'

Nico's heart short-circuited as he tried to process this information.

'You like…me?'

'Umm…I don't see any other Nico around here.'

'So…if I hadn't tried so hard to hide my feelings I wouldn't have made such a fool of myself all week?'

'Nope. And if you think you made a fool of yourself, you're not the one who spat juice all over your brother.'

'Okay, yeah. That was pretty funny.'

'Although, it was brilliant when you said it in Italian. Dolcezza, right? I'd like to hear that again sometime.'

Nico elbowed him.

'Very funny, Solace.'

They sat in silence for a while, watching the last few flames crackling away. Will's arm was still wrapped around Nico's shoulders. Nico normally hated being touched, but this…this was okay. More than okay, in fact.

'So, how did you find out?'

'Annabeth.'

'Makes sense.'

'Yeah. We paid a visit to Cabin Ten and then Drew tried to Charmspeak me into asking you out.'

'Oh, so that was what the 'will you be my doctor' thing was about?'

'Yep.'

Will laughed. His voice was warm and melodic.

'You're too funny.'

'Shut up.'

Will obliged. He stopped talking and Nico could feel him laughing under his breath. That boy was so annoying. And handsome. But mostly annoying.

'Do you want to hear what revenge I've got planned for the Aphrodite cabin?'

'I'm not entirely sure I do, to be perfectly honest.'

'Well…it may or may not involve ghosts. And zombies. And a visit from Mrs O'Leary.'

'Not too many ghosts and zombies. Not unless you want another three days in the infirmary with yours truly.'

'I wouldn't say no to that.'

'Nico.'

'Okay. I won't go too overboard.'

'See that you don't.' On the last word, Will tapped Nico's nose. If anyone else had done that, he would personally have sent them to the deepest pits of Tartarus. 'I'm not planning any revenge on anyone. Because this whole thing got you to confess to me at last.'

'Not in the way I wanted to.'

'Oh? And how did you want to?'

'I…I don't know. Maybe something like this. Campfire. Just the two of us. Alone.'

Will perked up.

'Oh, well in that case…I'm all ears.'

'What?'

'Please do tell me how you feel.'

Nico felt his temperature rising. Suddenly a part of him wanted to break away from Will's embrace. But the rest of him wanted to stay there forever.

'I guess…I hate you less than I hate everyone else.'

There was a moment's silence. Then, to Nico's dismay, Will started laughing so hard that he removed his arm from around his shoulders. Tears rolled down his freckled face.

'Well, that was the most romantic declaration of love I've ever had. And that's because it's the only declaration of love I've had.'

Nico turned bright red upon hearing the word love.

'Well, would you care to show me how it's done, Mr Sunshine boy?'

'Why of course.' This time, he took hold of his hand and looked straight into his eyes.

'I love you.' Will pecked Nico's cheek. 'Sweetie.'

Nico rolled his eyes.

'Hilarious.'

'Sorry. Couldn't help myself.'

'Well…I guess I feel the same way about you. Will.'

He squeezed Will's hand tighter and rested his head on his shoulder as a sense of joy and relief flooded through him. He was free from the curse at last.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, check out some of my other stories!