A/N: I'M THE WORST WRITER EVER ;-; I'm so so sososo sorry I haven't posted a chapter in so long! I have been swamped and overwhelmed the last few months and I haven't been able to write very much, but seeing as I only have a few more chapters for this planned, I decided I needed to get my ass in gear and pump out the last ones for you guys. So, here's the next chapter, and it's extra long as an apology for being dead for so long. Thank you guys so much for continuing to support the story, even after I stopped writing for a while, and please continue to show your love and support by leaving reviews and following/favoriting.

Also, since I do have a sequel planned, I decided I'd leak the title ;p Its working title is 'Suns 'n Skulls,' but I might change it. Stay tuned for another note at the end of the chapter.

26

Will

"Ah, that was fun." Will glanced over at Nico, who was sulking in his passenger seat, and offered him a bright smile. "Don't pretend to sulk, Nico," he said in a sing-song voice. "I know you had a good timeeee~"

The boy in question cut Will a glance and gave a long, drawn-out sigh in response. "Whatever." He pinched his forearm between his thumb and forefinger with a childish pout. "But I can tell I'm sunburned now! My skin looks like an extra-crispy marshmallow. That can't be good for my complexion."

Will snorted out a laugh, pulling into the left lane to head towards his house. "Your complexion? Really? I wasn't aware that you were so fragile, ghostie boy."

"Hey, shut up," Nico retorted petulantly, as if that was all he could think of, and Will snickered at the childish reply. After a second of scowling at him, Nico's mouth twisted upwards in a satisfied smirk and turned to look out the window with his arms crossed. "At least you have a sunburn, too. That's plenty of compensation for my suffering."

"Wow."

"Don't 'wow' me, William. This whole trip was your idea, remember?" Nico crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, giving an amused hum as his brows furrowed in mock-thought. "I think your exact words were—if I'm not mistaken—'I am taking you to the beach, and that is final!'" He gave Will an acrid smile. "Not very mature of you, Solace."

"Hey," Will defended, "I only said that because you had never been to the beach before! That's unheard of around here, y'know." He put on an innocent, puppy-dog expression and glanced over at his boyfriend—gods, he didn't think he'd ever get used to calling him that. "Who was I to rob you of that inexpressible joy?"

"I hate you," Nico said concisely, smacking him on the arm. Will yelped as the boy's palm made contact with the reddened skin of his bicep and shrank back with a whine, covering the offended area with a protective hand and a glare. "Owwww, Nico, that hurt!" He pulled onto the road leading into their neighborhood with a falsetto pout. "You're so abusive, babe."

Nico spluttered, whipping his head around so fast Will was afraid it might snap. "Did you... just call me babe?"

Will shrugged noncommittally, focusing on driving to keep himself from being embarrassed. "I thought I might give the pet-name thing a try. It's cute, don't you think?" In reality, he had been trying to build up the courage to use one since he'd asked Nico out in the first place, but he'd been too nervous. He must've really been relaxed because that had just slipped out of his mouth. How would Nico react, though?

"No, it's not cute," the Italian in question stressed, face reddening almost as much as Will's shoulders. He buried his chin in the crook of his black-shirt-clad shoulder to try and hide it, but it was no use considering the flush crept all the way down his neck. Will loved how invasive his blush was. "It's embarrassing is what it is..."

"What's so embarrassing about it if no one is around?" Will couldn't help but tease him a little when he was acting this unbearably adorable. It was like seeing a puppy and immediately wanting to cuddle it. "I like it. In fact, I think I might make it into a game." He flashed Nico a mischevious smirk. "How many pet-names do you think I can come up with within the five minutes it takes to get to my house?"

"Oh, gods, please don't." Nico buried his face in his hands. "Will, I swear..."

"You swear what, honey?" Will had to keep from bursting out laughing by gripping the steering wheel like a lifeline. The game rid him of all embarrassment and instead just made it fun. "I think it's cute using pet-names, sweetie."

"Please stop," Nico begged in a squeaky tone, face so red Will could practically see steam leaking from his ears. "This is way too embarrassing... Can't we just, I don't know, be old-fashioned and call each other by our names?" He glanced up at Will between his hands with a pleading look and his heart nearly exploded through his ribcage as Nico applied his Killer Puppy Eyes™. "Please?"

If it hadn't happened already, there was a barely audible plunk as cupid's arrow stabbed Will straight through the chest. Now he was the one to turn away as a blush covered his face and his palms began to sweat. "Sure, sure, sorry." He stared at the road so intently the asphalt started to swirl. His heart felt like it was overflowing and he had to fight to keep a joyful grin off his face.

How did I manage to find someone so amazing? I really am the luckiest person alive.

"Dad, we're back!" Will called in greeting as he kicked open his front door, arms full of sand-encrusted beach stuff from the recently-unloaded car. He peered around a green plastic bucket in his arms to check the living room for signs of his father, but the place looked empty. Dumping his burden on the shoe mat with a shrug, Will made a beeline for the next-most-likely area to find his dad; the kitchen, AKA Apollo's man-cave.

Nico followed after him, having removed his sandy shoes and left them by the door, and eyed Will's non-removed ones with annoyance. "Will, you're tracking sand all over the floor."

"Dad doesn't care," he said back dismissively, though he paused for a moment to tug the shoes off and toss them over by Nico's supplicatingly. "This isn't nearly as bad as that time I cut my hand open and got blood all over the floor. We had to deep-cleanse the carpet."

"What?" Nico gave him a horrified look as Will turned and resumed his trek to the kitchen, now shoeless. He shot his boyfriend—squee—a reassuring smile. "Don't worry: obviously it wasn't life-threatening or anything. I'm still alive."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better," Nico muttered, though he raised no further inquiries as Will ducked into the kitchen. He looked directly to the island where his father was usually perched in messy clothes, reading or working on writing a new song (he was in an amateur band), or guzzling his daily dose of caffeine. However, there was nothing there but a note on the counter.

Curious, Will slunk over and plopped down on a barstool, picking up the paper by the corners and glancing over it. Went out to lunch with a friend. Food in the kitchen for you+Nico. Be back late. As he finished reading, Will rolled his eyes and crumpled the note into a ball, theatrically basketball-shooting it into the nearest trash can, mimicking the cheers of crazed fans when it sailed in.

Nico watched him with a raised brow. "Um... what did it say?"

Will grinned over at him, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, just that we should have wild, crazy sex while my dad is away for the rest of the night."

"Pft." Nico covered his hand with his mouth as a crazed laugh tried to break free. He couldn't hold it for long, though, and burst into a fit of loud, snorty cackling. Adorable, Will thought as he watched him clutch the counter for dear life, tears streaming down his face as his guffaws trailed off into loud hiccups. The doctor in him prompted Will to get him a glass of water, but the devil on his shoulder forced him to laugh at Nico's red face and breathless gasping instead. "I was just kidding, mo chroí. Don't have a heart attack."

Nico paused, tone still holding a hint of laughter as he spoke. "Mo chroí? What is that, Dutch?"

Will's lips folded into a smile. "Nope, Irish."

"Tell me what it means?" Nico inquired, staring up at him with a tiny grin.

"Nope," Will replied, fighting back the urge to laugh as Nico's face crumpled into a familiar pout. "Che cosa? I want to know. Dimmi; tell me, please?" He stomped his foot irritably as Will shook his head in refusal and wandered past him into the living room. The Italian followed, still fuming. "Will, cretino, I want to know! What are you hiding?"

So cute... Will held back a squeal as he sat on the couch and glanced up at a frowning Nico with an innocent smile. "Sit down, Nico." He patted the seat. "Come on, non ti fidi di me?" His lips twitched as he used the Italian phrase, He was worried he hadn't said it right. Italian pronunciation had always been tough for him—especially so after hearing Nico's flawless linguistics.

If he noticed, though, Nico said nothing, letting out a long sigh and casting a suspicious glance Will's way. He offered a reassuring smile, hoping to convince him, and the boy rolled his eyes. Seemingly giving up, he collapsed against the couch and burrowed under Will's arm, cuddling up to him like a small animal. Will beamed and wrapped his arms around him. "So, what do you want to do the rest of the day?" he asked, perhaps a bit too cheerfully.

Nico pondered the question for a moment before glancing up at Will with a glint in his eye. The couch shifted as he turned and sat on his lap, intertwining his fingers behind Will's neck. "I don't know," he said slowly with a sly smile. "Got any ideas?"

"Hmmm..." Will's eyes flicked down to Nico's lips with a grin. "Maybe a few." He had barely gotten the words out before Nico kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, savoring the taste of mint on his breath. Nico shifted, his hands slipping through his hair, gently tugging in places. Upstairs, his brain told him, and Will pushed them to a standing position obediently, shifting Nico's weight onto his hips as he blindly stumbled towards the hallway.

He almost tripping several times on the way up the stairs, but Will couldn't focus on anything other than Nico long enough to care. He fumbled with the doorknob to his room for a good ten seconds before finally wrenching it open, kicking it closed behind them. His brain functions felt sluggish, and he faintly wondered if Nico's lips might be magic to make his head feel like this. Of course, there was no time for wondering. Questions didn't matter. Nothing mattered except the two of them.

Will's knees struck the bed and they crashed onto it in a flurry of limbs and hot breath, everything moving far too fast, but far too slow. Will broke contact for a moment to stare down at Nico's face, all hooded eyes, sharp angles, and swollen lips. "Bello," he whispered, tracing the shape of his cheekbone. He was sure of the pronunciation this time, having looked up the words over and over again, just waiting for a chance to say them. "Così, così bello."

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat by the window. "Am I interrupting something?"

Will's senses came crashing back down with the force of a 10-ton truck, knocking him off Nico, off the bed, and straight onto his ass on the floor. A little internal panic siren was going off in his head, and his heart felt like it would pop out of his ribcage and crawl away as he looked up into the amused, smirking face of his best friend. "Lou?" He was on his feet in an instant, shooting her his best thou-shalt-die eyes. "What the fuck are you doing in here?"

His unspoken question was really, 'What the fuck are you doing in here ruining the mood?' but he left that unsaid and instead continued glaring at her as she snickered and retreated back against the windowsill. "Oh, I was just coming to yell at you for skipping practice, but I guess Nico had the disciplining part covered for me."

"Oh, my gods." Will covered his face with his hands and tried to calm himself down before he overheated and fainted like Nico loved to do. "Lou, I'll give you ten seconds to get out before you get skinned alive."

She giggled, already lifting the window. "Oh, trust me, I'm gone." As she stuck a leg out the open gap, she cast a wink Nico's way. "You've earned my approval! Use protection, kids!"

Will lunged for the window, but she dropped onto the tree and retreated before he could catch her, cackling like a sadistic witch. A sadistic, mood-killing, romance-crushing witch. He yelled empty threats out the window after her, but she simply paused at the edge of his lawn and stuck her tongue out at him, mimicking a jockey riding a horse before she hopped on her moped and escaped, laughing like a maniac all the way down the block.

Fuming, Will turned to Nico and immediately felt his heart go doki-doki (no, he wasn't kidding). He had sat up and was hugging a pillow, staring up at him with bright red cheeks and a mortified expression, like he wanted to crawl under a blanket and never come out again. "I can't believe that just happened," he whispered as Will sat down beside him, burying his face in the pillow and squeezing it. "I'm going to die..."

"You're not going to die." Will rolled his eyes, scooting around Nico to hold him from behind, resting his head on his shoulder. "Sure, it's embarrassing, but it's just Lou. Though she seems like a blabbermouth, she won't tell anyone." He squeezed Nico's forearms. "I promise, so don't freak out, okay, love?"

Nico's head snapped around to glare at him. "No pet-names."

"That's what you choose to say?" Will felt himself grinning. "C'mon, grumpy, smile a little."

"No way," Nico fired back, returning his forehead to the pillow. His voice came out muffled. "I'm still embarrassed."

"Mmmm." Will grinned at the back of his neck before seizing Nico and roughly pulling him back, throwing them both across the mattress like a pro-wrestler. Nico squealed as Will started tickling him, begging for mercy between giggles. "Please— ack, Will— Stop, please, please! Misericordia!" He finally managed to push Will's hands away and collapsed against his chest, breathing heavily. "I hate you..."

He chuckled. "I love you, too."

Nico paused momentarily to glance up at him, resting his hands, folded, across his black T-Shirt, dark eyes serious. "Do you really mean it?"

Will smiled earnestly and bent down to kiss him, ever so slowly and carefully. As he pulled away, he repeated the words Nico had said to him what seemed like so long ago, meeting his eyes so he would know he was serious. "Ti Adoro, Nico." He buried his nose in the boy's hair, feeling out of nowhere a bit like he wanted to cry. "Ti Adoro tanto..."

He felt Nico's thin arms squeeze him back tightly, acting as a lifeline. "Ti Adoro anch'io, il mio cuore."

They lay there together, just holding each other, until they both drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

A/N: HA. YOU THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE A SEX SCENE, DIDN'T YOU? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Nup, we keepin' it PG-14 kiddies... at least until the sequel ;) Which brings me to the other note I wanted to mention: I want to make a new cover for this story as well as one for the upcoming sequel and if any of you out there are generous enough to draw them for me, I would be eternally grateful ;-;

Anyway, once again, I'm super sorry for the delayed chapter and I'll have another one out within the week, writer's honor. I hope y'all enjoyed it, and please do follow and favorite because it makes me guiltier with every new fan that I'm not writing... (´д｀)

Ahem. Also, feel free to leave reviews with comments, correctiosn, or suggestions, or PM me anytime about the story, or if you just want to talk :)

Until next time, addio babes~

(P.S.: I like didn't edit this so pls tell me if I made any mistakes. K bye.)

Translations;

- Mo chroí. = My pulse. (I love the Irish to death for this saying.)

- Che cosa? = What?

- Dimmi = Tell me.

- Cretino = Idiot, jerk.

- Non ti fidi di me? = Don't you trust me?

- Bello. = Beautiful.

- Così, così bello. = So, so beautiful.

- Misericordia! = Mercy!

- Ti Adoro, Nico. = I love you, Nico. (SQUEE! .)

- Ti Adoro tanto... = I love you so much...

- Ti Adoro anch'io, il mio cuore. = I love you too, my heart. (I DIED WRITING THIS PART AHHGH)