"But who is it?" Nico asked for the eleventh time in an hour, poking Will's shoulder teasingly as he sorted out some paperwork for the infirmary.
"I'm not gonna tell you..." He told him again, chuckling, for the eleventh time as well. He turned to him, unable to hide his smile. "Why are you so obsessed with knowing who I like?"
The real reason was Nico wanted to know what kind of guy Will liked. He also needed someone to blame for not having the guts to tell Will how he felt about him. But, of course, that was not what he told him.
"I'm just curious." He replied, which was true. At least half true. "I'm a very curious person. And, in case you're wondering, no, I'm not letting it drop."
Will rolled his eyes. "You're such an idiot..."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Fine." Will agreed at last. "I'll give you one clue..." He looked over Nico, who grinned in triumph. "He..." Will said slowly. "Is male."
"Ow come on!" Nico glared at him, pushing his arm. "That's not fair."
"Isn't it a clue, as I said I'd give you?" Will's lips played in a smirk, making Nico even more annoyed.
"You had already said that, you idiot." Nico rolled his eyes. "Come on, why don't you just tell me?"
Will turned to him, and stared for a moment.
"Why don't you tell me?" He asked, his tone turning serious, though Nico could still see the shadow of a smile in his lips.
"Tell you... what?" He frowned, genuinely confused.
"Who you like." Will said, leaning over his elbow and tilting his head. "Do you have a crush on anyone?"
"Uh..." Nico's brain seemed to have stopped working for a second. Thank you, brain. What was he going to tell him? Certainly not the truth. "I'm not into anyone..." Big fat lie, but it was the first thing he could think of.
"Really?" Will raised his eyebrows at him.
"Yeah, really..." Nico had to look away to prevent a flush.
"The camp is full of hot guys... Derek, from cabin 16... Paolo, from 18... They seem like your type."
"They're not my type." Nico grumbled, his cheeks feeling warmer.
"What's your type, then?" Will chuckled at the other's embarrassment; or at least Nico supposed it was at his embarrassment.
"I–" You. You are my type. "I don't think I have a type..."
"What about Percy?" Nico looked up to glare at him, dismissing completely the stiffness in his voice.
"No-o. He was just a childhood crush..." He muttered the last in a low voice.
"Hmm..." Will nodded his head, clearly not convinced.
"Well, okay." Nico sighed at last, standing up. "Don't tell me if you don't want to..." He went over to the door, and was about to leave back to his room when Will called after him.
"Yeah?" He turned back to look at the blonde.
"Don't be mad at me..." Will flashed him an apologetic smile.
I couldn't stay mad at you even if I wanted to, Nico thought bitterly. He just shook his head in response.
"You're not mad?" There was a slight smile playing on Will's lips as he asked this that made it really hard for Nico to think straight. Yes, well, if anything Nico did was ever straight. He shook his head again.
"No..." He opened the door, desperate for an excuse to stop looking at him.
"Oh okay..." Nico eyed Will over his shoulder and saw him nodding his head. "I'll bring you lunch in a couple hours." The blond informed as the other took a step out the room.
"Alright." The son of Hades grumbled, and closed the door behind him, heading back to his dorm.
The rest of the day passed by uneventful. Will brought Nico both lunch and dinner, and stayed until he ate the last bite of it all. Nico didn't mention Will's crush again and he didn't bring it up either, though Nico was still trying to decipher who was it.
When he had put Nico's tray away, the dark haired boy tucked his sleeve.
"Hm?" Will turned to him over his shoulder, a shadow of a smile in his features.
"Will you let me participate in tomorrow's game?" Even though it wasn't the most important thing in his mind right then, he still wanted to join (and win) capture the flag.
"Oh." Will seemed surprised. Probably thought he was going to ask something different. "Um, yeah.. " He shrugged, "I mean, if you let me check your hand and it's alright then yes."
"Okay." Nico held out his injured hand for him to check, hoping, really hoping, Will would let him play.
He needed a distraction from him. Badly.
Will removed the bandages carefully, and threw them in the trash bin at the corner of the room, as if it was a basketball. Such a show off. But really, was there anything this guy wasn't good at?
The blond turned back to him grinning, clearly pleased with himself. He touched his finger over Nico's wrist, pressuring slightly.
"From one to ten, how much does it hurt?" He asked, making a circle with his finger.
"Uh... two?"
He nodded, and moved to the next point, in the side of his hand.
"Cero."
When he touched the next, under his palm, Nico flinched slightly.
"O-one."
"Don't lie, Nico..." Wil gave him a worried look. "How much?"
Nico sighed, giving in. "Five..." He grumbled.
"Really..." Will still didn't believe him, he could tell.
"Yeah, really." Nico insisted, though it did hurt a little. "It doesn't hurt that much."
"Well. Then I guess I can't say no if you promise to be careful. I'd blame myself if anything happened to you." The last sentence was barely a murmur, but it was enough for Nico to hear.
A warm feeling ran through his body. It didn't matter Will had shown worry for him before, Nico would always feel good when Will said stuff like that.
"I'll be careful." Nico reassured him. "I swear."
Will nodded, letting out a small sight. "Yeah. Please try to not do anything stupid."
Nico scoffed. "Are you calling me stupid, Solace?"
Will laughed. "No, di Angelo." He imitated his tone. "I'm saying you tend to do stupid things. I wouldn't call you stupid."
"Is the exact same thing..." he grumbled.
"No, it isn't." The blond let out a light laugh, and patted Nico's hair. "You're like a little kid..."
Nico frowned, trying to dismiss the fact Willhadtouchedhishairinsuchacuteway, as he glanced up at him.
"I'm not!"
"Yeah, you are." He tuck a strand of dark brown hair behind Nico's ear, making it really hard for him to continue scowling and without blushing. "You get grumpy when you're tired."
"I'm not tired." He crossed his arms in front of him.
"Yep, you are, grumpy." Will shot him a brief smirk.
"Don't call me that."
"Sorry, grumpy" He patted the pillow. "Come on, time to rest."
Nico laid down reluctantly, complaining under his breath.
"There you go." Will grinned, covering him with the blanket. "Cutie..."
Nico buried his head in the pillow as he felt his cheeks turning warmer. Cutie. Will had called him cutie. As in... cute.
This was too much for him.
Will let out a laugh. "Good night, grumpy." The last thing Nico heard was the sound of the door locking, followed by Will's musical laugh.
