A/N: Sorry for the lateness of the update. I'll try to be a bit more prompt next time!


Chapter 2: First Admissions or The time Will's overthinking skills exceeded expectations and necessity. Again.

All things told, the three chariots were a little pretentious. Heavy polished gold reflecting the morning sunlight in scattering rays, they were like a spotlight announcing the arrival of the Romans. The pegasus were just as pretentious, glossy white with multihued feathering on their wings that glowed almost as brilliantly as the chariots they pulled.

"Three guesses who that is."

Nico glanced sidelong at Will, who was staring up at the approaching guests with the same mild curiosity that the rest of the surrounding demigods did. Curiosity and just a little apprehension, the latter of which was absent from those around them. He shook his head. "Don't need three guesses."

"Mm. Hazel and Frank?"

Nico nodded. "Probably Reyna, too."

"I count five people all up," Kayla muttered, fingers poking the air as she physically counted them.

"Jason Iris-messaged me yesterday saying that he was getting a lift with Reyna on the way through," Percy said from behind them. "I think him and Piper are probably a bit home sick for camp."

"We all get like that sometimes," Annabeth nodded at his side. Nico's glance towards her confirmed his suspicions that she more than sympathised with the sentiment. "Still, LA's a little out of the way coming from San Francisco to New York."

"You honestly think Reyna would mind going out of her way for Jason?" Percy asked.

"True."

They fell into silence as all attention turned once more towards the chariots. They weren't alone in watching the approach – most of the demigods from camp had paused in their sword practice, in their archery and their rock-climbing, in the vicious and often brutal games of volleyball to turn upwards. Even the Apollo cabin members practicing their instruments had lowered mouthpieces from lips and dropped fingers from strings to turn their attention towards the approaching Romans.

Nico felt a small smile threaten to touch his lips. He hadn't seen his sister, nor any of his other friends, for months. It was the first time since the New Year two weeks before that they'd visited, but even before that Nico hadn't seen all that much of them. They'd made an attempt to meet once a month, but oftentimes one or two of their number couldn't make it. Everyone was simply too busy, or two widespread. Even Jason and Piper, who had claimed themselves more partial to the Greek camp rather than the Roman one, were currently spending most of their time with Piper's dad in Los Angeles. Nico wouldn't admit it aloud – it would be far too embarrassing to do so – but he'd actually missed them. Even with Percy and Annabeth visiting most weekends, and even with the companionability of the children of Apollo, it was different, nice in a different kind of way. In their more recent quest to Greece, they'd shared something that couldn't be shaken by distance and time apart.

As Nico watched, he couldn't help but roll his eyes as, in one chariot in particular, a figure with distinctly blonde hair bodily clambered over the side and, with apparent disregard for his safety and wellbeing, jumped from the height of nearly half a kilometre and rocketed to the ground. It was a testament to how well Jason had assimilated and been embraced by Camp Half-Blood that most watchers sighed in fond exasperation rather than gasped and clicked their tongues in worry.

Jason plummeted twice as fast to the ground as the chariots soaring behind him and hit the ground at a run not twenty feet from where Nico and his friends stood. He jogged across the distance between them, grin plastered on his face and readjusting his glasses, puffing foggy clouds with each breath. "Hey, guys!"

Naturally it was Percy who stepped forwards first. They wrapped one another in a friendly, one-armed hug, each slapping one another's backs with affection that had blossomed between them that was reminiscent of childhood friends rather than acquaintances of less than six months.

"Hey, Jase, long time!"

"Tell me about it. Man, I've missed New York, I can tell you."

"New York's missed you too. We need our regular dose of Sparky to add some zest to the scenery." The pair of them grinned at one another as though they'd shared a fine joke.

"Oh, please," Annabeth sighed, stepping towards Jason. She was smiling herself, however, when she took Percy's place to offer him a brief hug. "How've you been, Jason?"

"Yeah, not too bad. Just missing home, I guess." He grinned widely, without a trace of that wistfulness his words suggested he'd felt. "Tell you what, it's warmer in LA, though."

"That's because it's further south."

"No shit, Perce," Jason said. Percy only smiled, disregarding his sarcasm. It was sickeningly friendly enough to make Nico roll his eyes once more.

By that point, the chariots had descended at a distance and, with various demigods dutifully stepping forwards to offer their assistance to their guests, the rest of the arrivals touched their feet to the ground and made their way through the snow towards where Jason was already standing. Nico returned a smile to those that Hazel and Reyna offered him, but hardly got a chance to do more before the excitement of welcome was upon them all.

Hugs were exchanged – much to Nico's disgruntlement, at least in every instance except Hazel's – and pleasantries right behind them. Pleasantries that faded into sincere questions of "What have you been up to?" and "I'm surprised you got here so fast. How long are you staying?" Nico greeted each of his friends with his usual initial awkwardness that faded when that awkwardness was recognised by his friends and thence disregarded. Even Frank, who Nico had never had all that much to do with outside of being Hazel's boyfriend, offered a warm word of greeting.

The rest of the demigods of camp, those that surrounded what had once made up the core of the quest to fight Gaea, offered their own greetings, waving and smiling and genuinely welcoming the Romans and returning Greeks. Fionn, always bubbly and overflowing with words, was the first to dive into the mix, and everyone else followed her lead.

Except for Will, Nico noticed, but then Will… Nico already knew the reason for Will's hesitancy.

"It's so good to see everyone," Piper was saying, as usual her voice having that resonance that seemed to be heard by everyone in attendance, regardless of how far away they stood. "Jason's right, it's really been too long. We've missed camp. Seriously."

"And everyone in it," Jason continued. He swept his beaming smile around his audience with what Nico saw as being just slightly more emphasis directed towards his closer friends. "What with all of us together, it's almost like –"

He cut himself off abruptly, and like a splinter of awkwardness pricking painfully in the air, the unspoken words, that which had nearly tumbled forth, drew him to a jarring quietness. Silenced everyone, in fact. Almost like old times, Nico thought. Except for the fact that we're missing one.

Nico knew Leo wasn't dead. Even though he'd felt him die, he knew he wasn't dead. Not anymore at least, however that was possible and despite the fact that Nico had been sure he'd died. But that knowledge wasn't all that reassuring to his friends, to those who missed the quirky son of Hephaestus and mourned his absence even if it wasn't a complete loss. Nico was as annoyed as he was saddened by that reality. If Leo wasn't dead, then where the hell was he? Didn't he realise that he had people waiting for him, people who wondered after his sudden disappearance in a display of self-sacrifice?

The hush continued until, with a loud clearing of his throat, Percy plastered his smile back upon his face. He spoke with exaggerated jubilance. "So! I think we were all going to head up to the dining pavilion for lunch before you guys all came and crashed our party. Anyone interested?"

The surfacing relief on Jason's face was reflected in the enthusiastic chorus of agreement from everyone else who leapt upon the distraction from their momentary melancholy. Like a rising wave, the sea of demigods seemed to move as one towards the pavilion, the stragglers who hadn't quite made it to their meeting point running to catch up. There were dozens of them altogether, a veritable sea of teens. Nico found himself between Will – who still wore an expression of uncharacteristic apprehension and hesitancy, and Reyna, who had a slightly exasperated and yet faintly relieved expression upon her face. Considering she was the traditional Roman amongst the ranks of Grecians, she was handling herself rather well. Almost comfortably.

Quite unexpectedly, Nico found his hand caught by Will's. He wasn't sure which of them had even reached for the other. He didn't pull it free immediately despite his natural urge, and mostly because, even through the tugging confusion of the loud and the suddenly hungry, he saw his expression. That apprehension had shifted to open wariness, almost concern.

Nico was grateful for the noise around them as he leaned into Will to convey his quiet words loud enough. Will was being an idiot but Nico didn't have the heart to reprimand him for it. Not in this instance, at least. "Stop overthinking things."

"I'm not overthinking things," Will muttered, though even his tone sounds guilty. Still wary, but guilty now too.

"Yes, you are. Why you're worried about this is beyond me anyway –"

"How is it 'beyond you'?" Will hissed in reply. "I feel like I'm meeting my boyfriend's family for the first time or something."

"My family? They're not my family – well, Hazel is, but still –"

"They're as good as," Will muttered, casting a glance over Nico's shoulder towards Reyna. From his brief start and the nervous smile that appeared only briefly upon his face, Nico suspected that Reyna was looking right back at him. When he spoke again, his voice was barely audible. "It doesn't take a genius to see that they're really protective of you –"

"Good thing you're not a genius then."

"- and I'm practically shitting myself meeting them for the first time."

Nico heaved a sigh. "Will, it's not the first time you're meeting them. You have met them before. Several times, in fact."

"Yeah, but I wasn't your boyfriend then."

"Would it make you feel better to know that I'm pretty sure at least Jason suspected something?" From the brief spark of terror that flashed across Will's face, it evidently didn't. Nico shook his head. "Okay, forget I said that."

What had happened to the usually so easy, amicable Will? This sort of nervousness wasn't like him at all. Or at least, it wasn't usual of him. Will did tend to overthink things sometimes, Nico had grown to realise. It was how that whole debacle and misunderstanding had arisen when Nico had visited Eve for the first time at Christmas.

Taking a deep breath, he released it in another sigh. Okay, try a different tactic. "How is this any different from with Percy and Annabeth? We had to tell them, right?" Why is it me reassuring him? I never reassure anyone of anything. He's usually so okay with this sort of thing!

Will was shaking his head fervently. "Yeah, but it was different. It was different with them."

"Why?"

"Because they're Percy and Annabeth! I've known them for years and I knew they wouldn't care – or at least that they wouldn't hate me –"

"Why would any of my friends hate you because we're dating?"

Will gave Nico a look as though he were stupid. "Um, maybe because they're a bunch of monster-killing demigods, some of the most powerful that have ever been born, and they're so overprotective of their friends that it's frankly a little bit weird."

"Hey, that's my friends you're talking about."

"Yeah! That's the problem!"

Nico shook his head. "That doesn't even make any sense. You realise that you're a powerful, monster-killing demigod too, right?"

"And massively out of their league," Will said slowly, deliberately, as though such a fact was even remotely relevant.

Nico opened his mouth to reply and found that he couldn't. He had no idea what he could say to ease Will from his narrow-minded neuroticism. Any arguments he would have considered had already been said. Well, except for…

"Does it even matter if they care we're dating? Or, if in some utterly improbable alternate universe, they wouldn't like you?" Will's expression became horrified once more and Nico gave up. No, that hadn't worked either. Nico gave up and just squeezed Will's hand crushingly in his own.

They made their way towards the dining pavilion amidst the raucous bellows and laughter of their fellow campers, breaking off as they stepped beneath the shelter as each fell to the designated tables of their godly parents. Before Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank and Reyna could even consider doing the same – something that would have been a little difficult for Reyna – Percy raised his voice as he turned towards their small group.

"Nope, you lot, you're all coming to sit at my table with me."

"Are we even allowed to do that?" Piper asked.

"No, not really." Percy shrugged and flashed a grin towards Nico, who replied with a blankly condescending stare as he anticipated what would follow. "But Nico's sort of set a precedent in that regard, so under extenuating circumstances the formalities of table seating is rendered void."

"Temporarily," Annabeth added, as though such a feature was integral for inclusion. "It's not an 'all the time' thing for most of us." Then she too flashed Nico a glance that very obviously excluded him from the 'most'.

To Jason's questions of "Why is that?" and Hazel's "Then where do you sit, Nico?" that caused Will to tense like a statue at his side, they followed Percy to his table. Nico locked his hand even tighter around Will's fingers, perhaps the first time he had been the one to initiate anything even vaguely encouraging a handhold, and tugged him alongside him before he could escape. Will dropped to sitting with the rigidity of a tin man and a marked hesitancy that left him as the last to take his seat out of them all. He gained a few curious glances, and one faintly knowing one from Jason, but largely everyone seemed to just accept his presence.

Nico rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's antics and, maintaining his captive lock of fingers beneath the table, turned deliberately to talk to Reyna who had positioned herself alongside him once more. She was certainly less exasperating to talk to than Will, who would likely only blurt out his nervousness should Nico attempt to draw him into conversation anyway.

The wood nymphs arrived with an array of plates tailored to everyone's specific tastes and they fell to eating amidst talking, between Jason stealing one of Percy's blue sandwiches and Piper nearly choking on a corn chip as she laughed at something Annabeth said. Nico did try to talk to Will just after their lunches arrived but, though he offered a sickly sort of smile of thanks for the attempt, Will remained close-lipped.

Honestly. He was being ridiculous. Nico went back to talking to Reyna instead.

He liked Reyna. They were close in a different kind of way to how Nico was with the rest of his friends, and not because they shared that much in common or were particularly affectionate with one another. It was probably that, as well as their brief exchanges of vulnerability to one another, which drew them closer.

"… and I wouldn't mind so much, except that she always feels the need to question my orders and voice her opinions even if she doesn't necessarily think that they're wrong." Reyna sighed, picking at the last of her burrito and shaking her head. "It's infuriating. I almost wish you were back in Camp Jupiter to back me up."

"Except I've never backed you up in the past anyway," Nico pointed out. "Lets face it, I was basically a selective mute in counsel meetings."

Reyna flashed him a crooked smile. "Yes, well, I would hope that you'd change your tune if I asked you to."

"Think about what you're asking exactly. You say that Nina's a thorn in your side because she feels the need to comment on everything that you say? Why would I want to say anything, then?"

"True." Reyna sighed again. "I can't say I blame you. You should visit New Rome again though, Nico. Your absence is very much noticed."

"By you, maybe. And not as much since Hazel's been the primary representative of the children of Pluto," Nico replied, nodding towards his sister across the table. Hazel smiled at him with her usual open affection; he'd noticed her listening for the past few minutes.

"Maybe, but I've not quite managed the intimidation factor that you do so well."

"He's a natural at it," Will murmured from his side, the one of the few times he'd spoken throughout the entirety of lunch. Nico glanced at him sidelong enough to see that he had eased somewhat with the casualness of the conversations around him. Or maybe that was Frank's doing; Nico had heard them talking, if only briefly. Something about archery from the sound of it. At least now he appeared in a slightly better mood. He was even smiling a little bit.

There, Nico thought approvingly. Whenever Will gets into a nervous funk, I'll just whack him with archery talk, then. Thanks for the heads up, Frank.

"Reyna's right, though," Hazel continued, sparing only a brief, curious glance for Will that caused him to tense once more, much to Nico's revamped exasperation. "You should come back to Camp Jupiter. It would be nice to see more of you."

"I'd think that there would be plenty of us that would be more than ready to request you join their legions," Frank added around a mouthful of burger. "You know people still talk about how cool it is that you can summon zombies and stuff."

"Well, I guess that's better than here," Nico muttered. He still got the occasional wary glances sometimes, and it was like a cyclical renewal of uneasiness that temporarily infected the camp whenever the story of the Zombie Dinner was relived. It would always fade, though the uncertainty of the other demigods remained just on the periphery. People would always be scared of death. Hell, even Nico –

"You're not – you're not going to leave, are you?" Will abruptly blurted out in a whisper, breaking into Nico's thoughts. Not loudly enough to be heard by anyone who wasn't straining to listen, except for perhaps Reyna who Nico saw in his periphery raised a speculative eyebrow.

Nico glanced towards him. "What? Leaving? No, I'm –"

"Because I thought you said you wouldn't. I mean, I just thought you'd –" Will cut his whispered words off, frowning in an entirely different kind of nervousness, of worry.

Nico shook his head, pinching Will's wrist that he still held under the table. "No, I'm not leaving, you stupid Light Bulb." Raising his voice, he turned back to Hazel. "Maybe I could come and visit you guys sometime? It would probably be easier than the other way around."

Hazel beamed and agreed readily. The rest of lunch was spent discussing through her chattering excitement the logistics, of which Nico was only a minimal participant, and ignoring the return of Will's nervousness that slowly lessened once more when he talked himself out of his foolishness. Nico was quite relieved that he didn't have to attempt to coax it out of him instead; he seemed to do more harm than good when he tried.

Lunch tapered off slowly, most of the surrounding demigods with it when they'd had their fill of watching the new arrivals and occasionally calling out questions or words of greeting. At Annabeth's suggestion that they make a move from the tables to more comfortable seating than the admittedly uncomfortable dining pews, they rose as one and followed Percy and Annabeth towards Hestia's hearth. It was that or to one of the more neutral cabins, and as far as Nico was concerned, none of the cabins would exactly be considered comfortable by everyone.

As one, they fell easily back into sitting, Jason and Percy both casually leasing the way by sprawling out in what would have been snow angels had not the warmth of the fireplace melted a ring about it, exposing the feeble winter grass below. The rest of them lowered themselves to the ground with markedly less casual enthusiasm, Reyna even going so far as to spread her praetor's cloak on the ground to sit upon before daintily pulling her gloves off and unwrapping her scarf. Nico couldn't blame the de-layering; Hestia's warmth was certainly radiant.

It would have been simplistically perfect, except for the fact that Will, being the stubborn, idiot mule that he was, dug his heels into the ground and refused to step up to the wobbly ring of demigods surrounding the fire. Nico, his hand still locked on Will's wrist, was nearly jerked from his feet when he moved to join his friends. He glanced behind him with a barely suppressed grumble of exasperation. "What? What's wrong now?"

Will was staring at where Percy and Jason were indeed actually making snow angels – they'd scooted back towards the thin blanket of snow just beyond the ring of the hearth and were cackling together about something or other while Annabeth and Piper pointedly ignored them – and visibly swallowed. "I really don't feel comfortable with this."

"You don't want to hang out with me and the people I consider my friends?"

"It's not that –"

"Actually, I think it is that exactly."

"No, it's not. It's just…" Will turned his worried frown upon Nico. "This is really kind of embarrassing. I feel like we should maybe tell them, but then at the same time I don't know whether that would be too assuming, and I don't know if they'll actually approve –"

"What is it with you and looking for their approval?" Nico said, shaking his head. "Why would it make a difference if they did or didn't? And what would even make you think they wouldn't approve? They liked you before we were boyfriends."

"Let's face it, Nico, they didn't even know me. It's all about first impressions –"

"Which, despite the fact that you've been strung like a bow string, you haven't made a bad one of."

"Look, I just know from experience that –"

Nico rolled his eyes, tugging on Will's arm for a moment. It didn't move him an inch. He really is like a stubborn fucking mule. "Experience? Really? With all of your past boyfriends and all?"

"I meant with my mum," Will said, a slight flush rising in his cheeks. Nico marvelled that he really was quite so unhinged. "I always found it weird when she started dating someone new –"

"Well, I'm sure our children will be fine. They can handle it."

"I wasn't insinuating they were like our kids."

"Really? Because that's sort of what it sounded like."

Will heaved a sigh, reaching a hand up to scrub at the back of his head. "This really isn't coming out right."

"No, it's not," Nico agreed. "Because there is no right way for it to come out. This," Nico leant towards him slightly, reaching up to flick Will in the middle of his forehead, "is all in your head. Honestly, do you think that I cared when Hazel and Frank finally told everyone that they were actually dating? Or Jason and Piper? Or literally anyone batted an eyelid when Percy and Annabeth officially admitted they crushed on each another?"

"That's different," Will began.

"Only because this time you're on the other side of it."

"Nico –"

But Nico wouldn't hear anymore of it. With a hard tug, he jerked Will forwards after him, drew him towards the space next to Reyna – they appeared to have both silently agreed to sit alongside one another in every instance – and drew them both down to sitting. With deliberate volume, he turned a narrowed-eyed glare upon Will and announced, "For Gods' sake, Will, you're my boyfriend and if I want you to bloody well join us then you're allowed to."

Then, ignoring any potential responses his friends made, he turned away from Will, deliberately slumped backwards so that his back was propped against Will's shoulder, and turned his attention to Reyna. Reyna, who was so evidently biting back a smile that she should have just let it show anyway.

It was embarrassing, a big part of Nico whined. Mortifyingly embarrassing to perform in such a display before anyone. It wasn't in Nico's repertoire to make overt announcements – he didn't want everyone knowing his private business, and certainly not that he actually liked someone.

But it had been necessary. Because Will was a ball of nerves, and he needed to get the source of that nervousness out of the way. To smother the flame, as it were.

Nico did not see the momentary surprise that flashed across Hazel's face as she glanced between him and Will. Surprise that quickly faded into a wide, vibrant smile. He equally didn't see Frank's immediate acceptance of his words, as though he'd voiced nothing more important than the condition of the weather, nor Reyna's continued quivering of lips and deliberate attempt to look anywhere but at Nico. He definitely did not hear Piper say to a distinctly self-satisfied Jason, "How did I not know about this? How did I not realise when you did?" or Percy's reply of, "Don't worry, Piper, I didn't realise until Annabeth told me either", and Annabeth's subsequent smug grin.

No, Nico very definitely did not see any of that. He deliberately slumped into his seat, shoved aside the incident alongside his regard for Will's nervousness, and lifted his gaze to meet Reyna's when she finally turned towards him. Her lips still trembled slightly, however, and actually broke into a smile when Nico pointedly turned his gaze towards them.

"So… just had a thought about what you were saying at lunch," Reyna began, drawing Nico from his attempts at ignoring the rest of his friends. "About keeping quiet at every possible instance."

Nico suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the very deliberate insinuation of her words. "Maybe not always. Sometimes I guess you just need to say something. Regardless of what other people think. Because it needs to be said for… to some people."

A slow smile finally stretched across Reyna's face and Nico could have sworn that for a brief second her gaze flickered over his shoulder to Will at his back. Will, who had actually been drawn by Frank into another discussion, who appeared to have abruptly deflated from his pedestal of nerves, and had even slung and arm over Nico's shoulder.

For once, Nico didn't shrug it off. Not immediately, anyway.


A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you liked the chapter. If you have a second, I'd love to hear your thoughts - comments, suggestions, questions - literally anything. Thanks for reading!