I'm sorry it took so long to post. It's because I have 2 state tests coming up plus the usual chaos of the end of the school year, so the workload my teachers have been giving me has been huge. Also, a warning: this story is going to end soon. I'm not sure if last chapter will be next chapter or one after that. Another note, I love the reviews! They have made me so happy! I really hope you've enjoyed this! Bye for now!

Chapter 16: A lovely Family

"Why could she just, like, use goddess powers and do this herself?" Will whined. His back hurt from bending over so much and his legs were about to go on strike. Not to mention, the bone-and-brick pathway was easy on his knees. Who knew tending to a garden could be so painful?

"Because she's insane and she loves to torture me in anyway she can. That's what happens when your father has a jealous wife." Nico replied a bit bitterly.

Will stood up, partly to examine his work, mostly because his back was killing him. "Wait so she doesn't want Hades to get mad when she cheats, but when he cheats, she gets mad."

Nico looked up from his work and nodded in agreement. "Yep, that's pretty much how it works."

"How have the gods managed to not kill each other?" Will asked himself. "The good news is, all we really have left to do is plant these silver flower things and we can leave."

The thought of leaving this dark place excited Will. He had only been here a few hours and he already felt a horrible sense of hopelessness growing in him. It was terrifying what this place could do to you. No wonder Nico was so gloomy.

They set to work, trying to plant the silver flowers as fast as they could. Even then, it took almost an hour. Will's back screamed with pain from being hunched over. He and Nico slowly got to their feet, holding their backs like old men. Will decided he never wanted a garden.

"We're done. " Will sighed, wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked at Nico, who looked like he was about to tear Persephone in half. His clothes were covered in dirt. Dirt had even managed to get in Nico's hair. Will was sure he didn't look much better.

Will gestured to a stone bench in front of a small fountain not far away. "Wanna sit for a minute?"

"Yeah." Nico nodded and followed Will to the bench. They sat there for moment, just resting.

"I'm so sorry. I know my family is just...lovely" Nico said sarcastically. "I'm sorry I got you dragged into this."

Will laughed. "That's like, the second time you've apologized. It okay. There's no place I'd rather be. Well, actually there's a lot of places I'd rather be, but only if I were with you."

Nico's eyes were soft, gazing at Will as if he were a star.

"Here," Will said, cupping some water from the fountain into his hand. "Let's clean you up a little."

He washed all the dirt off of Nico's face and a little out of his hair. Will finally settled his hands on Nico's cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. Nico didn't protest.

Is Nico my boyfriend? Are we dating? What's going on between us?

Will was practically torturing himself with all the unanswered questions. He wanted Nico to answer them, but he was afraid to ask. What if Nico said no?

Why would Nico say no? You've kissed him like 5 times already. He would have said something. You're just over thinking it now. Plus it's a simple question for clarification. What harm can a question cause?

Will scolded himself for being a wimp.

I save people from the brink of death on a regular basis, but I can't even ask Nico if we're dating?

Will remembered Nico's words from capture the flag. He couldn't just sit here and expect to win. That's it. I'm going to ask him out.

"Hey, Nico?" Will said quietly. "So ummmmm, when we get back to camp Jupiter, do you wanna go bowling or something like that?"

Nico stared at him for a second, as if having trouble comprehending Will's sentence. "Did you just ask me out?"

Will felt his entire face flush scarlet red. This definitely wasn't the reaction Will was hoping for. "Maybe. a little bit."

Nico look of confusion faded into a small, genuine smile. "Of course, dummy. But first we have to get back to camp Jupiter."

"Oh right!" Will had completely forgotten that they were supposed be going to see Persephone. "We should probably get going."

...

Nico was impressed with himself. He had managed to keep his cool composure, but on the inside he was screaming. Not like, scared screaming, but screaming from joy. When will had first asked him out, he felt like he could pass out right then. How could this be real? He could believe in Greek gods and monsters and myths, but he could barely believe this.

Nico felt happy. He felt his heart melting as if made of butter. He already knew that Will had some sort of feelings for him. They had kissed, what was it, about 5 or 6 times by now? But the fact that Will actually wanted to date him, wanted to be his boyfriend seemed too good to be true. He wanted to pinch himself because he was almost positive he was dreaming.

They walked down the hallway towards the throne room, Nico leading because Will didn't know the way. Nico was vaguely aware of the freezing air in the hallway, but he could barely feel it. His cheeks felt like an oven. He was sure that even in the dim light of the hallway, Will was able to see Nico blushing. Why must he always blush so hard? He felt like if he got too close to a candle, he'd melt it.

Throne room was loud, with Hades and Persephone in a heated argument. Nico and Will hid in the doorway behind the large stone doors decorated with bones.

"My dear, it was only because I love you." Hades tried to say calmly, but it looked as if Persephone was just getting fired up.

"Why do you torture me like this? I let you run off with your little Italian girls and fortune tellers and you can't even let me have the little time I have in the upper world?!"

Nico winced at the comment, but Persephone and Hades didn't even know he was there.

"Let me run off?" Hades scoffed. "Every time I have demigod children, you do something like turn them into flowers. I'm pretty sure Nico's been a sunflower twice by now!"

Nico winced at that comment too, remembering what it was like to do photosynthesis. He really didn't want to listen to this conversation anymore. He stepped into the throne room, cutting whatever Persephone was about to say short. "We're done."

Persephone glared at him, which he was pretty much used to from her by now. "Very well." She sighed. "I must return you to that demigod camp of yours now."

She waved her hand and a giant black hole appeared in the ceiling. It sucked in air like a vacuum. Nico and Will were swept off their feet being pulled into the darkness.

Going back up was even worse than falling down the hole in the first place. It reminded Nico of flying. He hated flying. By the time they could see light above them, Nico was on the verge of throwing up.

Slowly, a circle of color above them grew larger. The ground spit them out into the air. Nico landed with a hard thud. Ow. He was sure Persephone had done that on purpose.

The light burned his eyes. It took a few minutes to readjust to the almost surreal light of the sun. Nico looked around, taking it all in. He had never been happier to be back at a demigod camp. He was almost tempted to kiss the ground below his feet.

"Camp Jupiter." Will said. "Thank gods."