Summary: Instead of Percy, Nico gets taken by Hera for her 'exchange program' between the Romans and Greeks. A certain son of Apollo isn't happy about that.
Important Information: HAZEL IS ALIVE. I'm going with one of Hades minions setting her free so that the prophecy could come true by secret order of Hades.

The Son of Pluto
by LDJE

I. He Dreams of a Hot Blonde Guy in Cut-Off Shorts

Nico hated tests. Since he'd lost his memory, his whole life was one big fill-in-the-blank. He was _, from _. He felt like _, and if the monsters caught him, he'd be _. Then he thought about someone waiting for him in his past life. He definitely felt someone was waiting for him and whoever it was he had to find that person.

Nico though his dreams were maybe a test too, to test him with temptation of either going on a quest with his newfound sibling, Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto.

That night, the son of Pluto slept like a Medusa victim- which is to say, like a rock. He hadn't crashed in a safe, comfortable bed since…well, he couldn't even remember. Even if he did, he felt like fatigue and exhaustion was somehow common to him. It was rest that was rare. Despite his insane day and the million thoughts running through his head, his body took over and said: You will sleep now.

He had dreams, of course. He always had dreams, but they passed like blurred images from the window of a train. He saw a pot-bellied, light blonde, sleepy-looking kid trailing after him with a yawn.

"Hey," Nico called grumpily, "Stop following me around, go and get some rest or something. It's not my fault if you trip and fall asleep on the ground." The other kid looked like he could definitely do that.

"What?" The other teen said rubbing at his eyes and pausing mid-yawn "No, Nico, it's me, Clo-Clo-" He yawned. "Clovis." He finished. "The connection isn't all that good…" He mumbled before adding, "Stay put… We're on our way to find you. Mrs. O'Leary is sniffing your tracks, we think she's the closest. We're trying to get a lock on your position."

"What?" Nico called, but the boy disappeared in the fog.

Then suddenly another blonde kid appeared, a few feet beside him, surprising Nico. He was taller than Nico with shaggy blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He wore SURF'S UP shirt and cut-off shorts with flip-flops. It should look weird but oddly enough, Nico just found it endearing. The guy was definitely hot and he was running towards him, reaching out his hand, blue eyes twinkling in worry.

"Thank the gods!" He called and he had the urge to reach out and take his hands. "For months and months we couldn't see you! Are you all right?"

Nico remembered what Juno had said—for months he has been slumbering, but now he is awake. The goddess had intentionally kept him hidden, but why?

"Who are you?" He asked and hot blonde guy blinked, expression turning to hurt. Nico didn't like seeing that expression and asked instead, "Are you real?" He stopped walking and so did the other guy.

He wanted so much to believe that these people in his dreams were possibly the ones waiting for him in his past life, it he felt like Hannibal the elephant was standing on his chest. But the blonde guy's face began to dissolve. As a last ditch attempt, the guy beside him reached out, cupped his face and let their foreheads meet. "Stay put." He whispered in a soft tone, effectively making Nico freeze both at the tone and contact. "It'll be easier for Mrs. O'Leary to find you, stay where you are." He insisted and Nico met the familiar blue eyes, electricity tingled at the points he touched him. The stranger leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, "Doctor's orders."

He was gone.

Nico knew that he probably had other important dreams too, like a ship being built or Gaea or one of her weird Titan sons but he was too out of it to even register anything past shaggy blonde hair and pale blue eyes.

He sincerely hoped that hot blonde guy in cut-off shorts wasn't a sibling or just a concerned relative coming to find him.

II. He Gets Hit On by Someone who is not Reyna

Hazel, Frank, and Nico were leaving after the unhelpful meeting. They were only halfway across the forum when some called, "Di Angelo!" Nico turned and saw Reyna walking towards them.

"Praetor." Nico greeted respectfully, throughout the whole forum, it was only the female praetor who seemed to be fair and unbiased. She had earned his respect and judging by the quick smile on the other's face, the feeling was mutual.

"I personally apologize for being unable to provide a better way for you to travel." She said with a sigh, "I'm a loyal Roman and majority votes always trump my authority, I'm afraid at this rate I may end up with an unwanted partner." The three of them immediately knew who she was talking about.

Frank barely held back a snarl. "That backstabbing, slimy—" He began to mutter but Hazel placed a hand on his arm to calm him.

"So," Reyna said. "I would appreciate it if the three of you come back alive. When you return successful then you must be prepared for the fact that I have to consider one of the three of you as my next fellow praetor."

The three seemed surprised but nodded.

An invisible weight left the female praetor's shoulders, "Good. Nico, I want you to report to the principia without Hazel and Frank." Her tone seemed apologetic and the son of Pluto wondered why until Reyna said, "Octavian wishes to talk of your oncoming quest and insists it was of the utmost importance." And the frown on her face suggested that she did not like it when the legacy of Apollo abused his power as Augur.

"Very well," Nico said with a nod as he turned to his sister and his sister's maybe-not-boyfriend, "I'll see you guys later."

"See ya." Frank nodded.

"If he says anything bad, tell us and I'll have the horses stampede at him." Hazel said seriously. Nico laughed briefly and leaned in to kiss her cheek as Reyna gave him a respectful nod.

"Good luck and I hope we see each other soon, Nico di Angelo."

o_o

"Nico, Nico, Nico…" The annoying falsely sweet voice of a certain Legacy of Apollo pervaded his ears the moment he stepped into the principia. He resisted the urge to shudder. "Nico di Angelo, another child of Pluto. The angel child of Pluto." Octavian flashed him a smile that he supposed was to be soft and sweet but just looked like a maniac grin to him, "And what an interesting angel you are, the way you rescued those buffoons and brought Lady Juno here, your powers…" His eyes flashed hungrily.

It took every ounce of Nico's being not to flinch back. Flinching is a sign of weakness, he decided.

"Those buffoons are my sister and her… friend." He said, face indifferent. "Octavian, I'm gonna be honest with you- I don't like you and what you're saying right now isn't exactly making you look any better in my perspective."

"Oh but who cares what you think," The Augur said stepping towards him, he stepped back. "You're perfect to me and with the offer I'm about to give you, pretty soon you'd find yourself groveling on your knees."

Nico scowled, dropping his monotone mask, "I really doubt that. I'm not on your side and after what happened in the war games, I will never be on your side."

Octavian's face finally showed traces of frustration before he donned on the fake smiling mask again, "Oh but di Angelo, you haven't even heard my proposal yet."

"No."

"I have an unlimited amount of money to sponsor-"

"No."

"I could make your quest easier-"

"No."

"Hazel and Frank won't be outsiders-"

"No."

"Together we can unsurp Reyna and-"

"No."

"I-"

"No." Nico said and two hands grabbed him by the shoulder. The son of Pluto took a step back, growling at him. Octavian was either suicidal, brainless, desperate, or all three because he didn't let go and closed the distance between them, face disgustingly inches from his own.

"Oh dear, I don't like pawns that play hard to get." He said and Nico stepped on his foot but Octavian ignored it or, judging by the hastily covered pained look on his face, he tried to. "But you, di Angelo, you don't have to be a pawn, you can be my queen -"

Thankfully, the Augur wasn't able to finish his sentence because Nico chose that moment to kick him in the groin to where the legacy of Apollo stumbled back with a shrill yell of pain, "You're disgusting." The son of Pluto said before turning and heading out, ignoring the curses and pained whimpers behind him.

Serves him right for even daring to touch him.

o_o

Meanwhile, at a certain Camp in Long Island…

Will's face was unreadable as Percy clapped him on the back, "Hey Will, something the matter?"

"Hm," The son of Apollo hummed thoughtfully, "I just had this really awful feeling but I think it' okay now. Everything's right with the world again."

Percy nodded like this was a normal answer while Leo looked at them weirdly from where he was screwing some bolts.

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Piper asked Annabeth who seemed to be looking at the scene in amusement.

"It's nothing, we're just used to Will being like this." The daughter of Athena explained, "Sometimes he gets this weird, slightly annoyed look on his face. Of course we couldn't get it at first but then we realized that Will always looked annoyed but apparently it happens whenever someone hits on Nico. Though most of the times he has no way of knowing that Nico was being hit on of course. It's just like he has this sixth sense about him or something."

"Oh." Piper said, must be a child of Apollo thing, she decided. "But he said 'everything's right with the world again', that must mean whoever is flirting with Nico backed off right?"

Clarisse snorted, "Or di Angelo kicked him in the balls."

Jason seemed to do a double-take. He had been lifting a heavy toolbox and thankfully didn't drop it on his foot. But it was a close thing. "What?"

"Nico doesn't like anyone being near him or annoying him or flirting with him or even touching him." Annabeth explained, "So he's prone to kicking people where it hurts if they overstepped their boundaries."

"Not that Will's complaining." One of Will's siblings, Austin, said. "Even though he's a medic and should be telling his boyfriend off for causing harm on others, he lets Nico kick anyone he wants if they make him uncomfortable or flirts with him. He's selfish like that."

Will's face flushed, "HEY!"

Leo gave out a low whistle, "Wow, you're whipped."

"Shut up." The Apollo counselor grumbled.

Jason sighed, "And he isn't even denying it." He laughed and met Piper's eyes before looking away, flushed. The daughter of Aphrodite seemed satisfied with that reaction.

Annabeth shook her head, "Okay guys, get your head back in the game. Back to work!"

III. Don't Freak Out, But I think I have a Boyfriend

"You're quiet." Frank said to the son of Pluto, Hazel was busy looking over the map, making plans about travelling the land through train.

"I'm remembering." Nico answered as he poked at his eggs.

"Oh." The Canadian-Chinese said, looking interested, "Remembered anything important?"

The son of Pluto wrinkled his nose, "I had a sister, someone other than Hazel."

"What? Really? What's her name?" Even Hazel looked up interested.

"Bianca." And at the mention of her name, his heart did a painful squeeze and before any of them could ask if he knows where she was or how she was, he added, "I think she's-" He let out a breath. "She's gone."

Frank opened his mouth, not knowing what to say before his expression set and he nodded. He didn't ask for more details, which Nico appreciated. He didn't say he was sorry, or make any of the well-meaning comments most people who were grieving always hated: Oh, you poor guy. That must be so hard on you. You have my deepest condolences.

As the son of Pluto, Nico had faced death before, (though he may not remember it) like he knew about grief (more than anyone else probably). What mattered was listening. You didn't need to say you were sorry. The only thing that helped was moving on—moving forward.

Nico may not remember it but he had a feeling that he had moved on, moved forward. Probably with the help of someone, someone important to him, someone he could barely remember. "I also remember a few people, like an Annabeth, a Percy, a Tha- Thalia? I don't exactly remember how but they helped me and my sister."

Frank nodded at this, interested and Hazel was looking at her brother with slight worry. In a joking tone, Frank asked, "Remember any girlfriend?"

At those words, Nico flushed and averted his eyes, "I- uh,"

"Nico?"

"Uhm," The son of Pluto let out a breath, running a hand down his face. "Don't freak out, okay?" He grumbled because from the short instance he knew Hazel, he realized that his younger sister was a bit more than 'old-fashioned', she was old fashioned. She came from the forties and although Nico sensed that once upon a time he may have been wary about his sexuality, he also knew that something may have changed because right now, he really didn't care much about what other people thought. He just wanted Hazel (and to an extent, Frank) to know him a bit more. "I may have had a crush on Percy."

"Oh."

"Percy's a guy."

"…Oh."

"And…" Nico took in a deep breath, aware of the wide-eyed looks, "I think I may have a boyfriend, waiting for me somewhere? I don't remember but it feels like that sometimes."

"Is it that Percy bloke…?"

"No! No, I don't think so." Nico said, eyes wide. "I mean, I was a kid back then and Percy, from what I remember, was crushing on Annabeth and vice versa."

"Oh, then who…?"

A blonde entered Nico's mind and he wondered if his guess of having a boyfriend was right and if it was that guy. I hope so, he found himself thinking. Instead of answering, he shook his head and shrugged. "I honestly can't remember," Then he turned his face towards Hazel who was flushed and fanning herself. He asked warily, "Is that okay?" He was asking Hazel more than Frank because 1) Frank was a modern kid, most modern kids understood and accepted the whole liking the same gender thing and 2) Hazel was his sister.

"I… uh, in my time, people would hate you for that but…" Hazel let out a breath, "But this isn't the forties anymore and you're my brother and I'd love you even if you said you were an axe murderer." She said in determination before flushing again, "Besides, I find it sorta… cute? Hot?" She covered her face while Frank stared at her in astonishment.

Nico had the mad urge to laugh. Instead his shoulders slumped in relief. "Thanks Hazel, that means a lot."

A hand reached out to touch his. "Of course, brother."

IV. He Makes a Call to a Number He Barely Remembers

The station wasn't far. They were just in time to buy tickets for the last train south. As his friend and sister climbed on board, Nico said, "Be with you in a sec," and ran back into the station.

He got change from the gift shop and stood in front of the pay phone. He'd never used a pay phone before. They were strange antiques to him, like his sister's turntable or his teacher Chiron's Frank Sinatra cassette tapes (he remembers a Chiron now, it's strange how far his memory has stretched since he left Camp Jupiter). He wasn't sure how many coins it would take, or if he could even make the call go through, assuming he remembered the number correctly.

Will Solace, he thought.

He remembered befriending a kid from the Apollo Cabin a year after being dragged into Camp. The Will in his memories was a lot younger than the one in his dreams but he could safely say they were the same person. Blonde hair, pale blue eyes, lightly tanned skin that was definitely Will.

His Will, his best friend.

He wondered if they eventually became something more in time. If he was honestly still so hung up on Percy even after all this time, he'd definitely like to kick his younger self in the head. He was so easily blinded by heroes that sometimes he failed to notice that someone amazing was already beside him.

Nico let out a sigh.

He picked up the receiver and punched in a New York number—Will's old phone, his first one. He gave his number to a surprised, younger Nico while he went back to school, made Nico promise to call at least once a month, even though it was dangerous for demigods to be carrying phones. Will explained he kept his phone inside a special box his dad gave him on his tenth birthday. This box prevented monsters from tracking him via phone so that he could use it sometimes without being attacked.

Nico memorized it, he was that grateful.

The receiver rang several times, Nico's heart pounding in his chest. Finally it clicked and went straight to voice mail. Of course, it was midnight and Will was probably at Camp. Hearing Will's cheerful voice made something in his chest tighten and he was grateful that he kept his old phone even after all this time.

"-and if this is you Nico, then you better not be overexerting yourself again with all that Underworld-y stuff." Nico had that urge to roll his eyes, "Doctor's orders!"

Beep!

"Will," Nico choked out. This was the first time he said the blonde's name ever since he remembered it. "I- uh, I'm okay. I'm sorry." He said hurriedly, he wondered if he was apologizing for not remembering the blonde or for not staying put like he said, or both. "I'm on a quest, with good people. I can't say who, it's- it's complicated." He winced, Will never liked cryptic messages, he could almost imagine blue eyes narrowing at him. "I know I'm stuck on something big here but I'll make it back home. Promise."

He opened his mouth to say something, three words. He took a deep breath and said, "Will Solace-" but then the phone clicked and the line went dead.

He was out of change.

He put down the receiver. He stared at the phone, hoping it would ring back. The train whistle sounded. The conductor shouted, "All aboard!"

Nico jumped and then stepped into the nearest, darkest shadow. He materialized on his seat, surprising Frank and Hazel. He watched out the window just as they were pulling up the steps,

Hazel frowned, eyes twinkling in worry. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he croaked. "Just… made a call."

His sister and Frank seemed to get that. They didn't ask for details.

o_o

The sun shone through the windows of the Apollo Cabin but Will didn't feel like getting up. His arm was thrown over his eyes, lips set into a frown. After that first dream contact, he hadn't been able to reach Nico ever since. His hands clenched into fists in frustration.

But then a loud knock on the door shook him out of his worry. Kayla had opened the door and ushered in a harried-looking Jason.

"Sorry to wake you up so early but your mom just called the Big House." The son of Jupiter said and Will got up immediately, heart beating fast against his ribs and wondering if something happened.

When he reached the Big House, he immediately grabbed the phone from Annabeth's hand. Leo and Piper were there too. Apparently the daughter of Aphrodite had been making another call to her father. (Chiron kept a phone and computer in the Big House for a few calls, their connection was protected by the gods for like, a minute and a half). "Mom?" He asked in worry.

"Hey, honey, how're you doing? Found Nico yet?" His mom sounded fine and Will let out a relieved breath.

"I'm fine, Nico is-" He could feel Annabeth exchanging worried looks with Jason, as did Piper and Leo. "Still haven't found Death Boy."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find him soon, Will."

"Yeah," He croaked.

"Anyway, I called you about your phone. I was cleaning your room and I opened the box your dad gave you and saw you had a voice mail. I know that you only give your number to a few people and I thought this may be important." She said.

Will pressed speaker so they could all hear it clearly. "Okay, play it over the phone."

There was a few seconds of fumbling before a familiar tone flooded through.

"Will." The son of Apollo's heart almost stopped beating when he heard the voice. His blue eyes were wide and he gripped the edge of the desk tightly. Leo mouthed Nico? to which Annabeth nodded. "I- uh, I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm on a quest, with good people. I can't say who, it's- it's complicated." The son of Hades winced and Will's eyes narrowed, he wondered if Nico remembered he didn't like cryptic messages. He had enough of that as a son of Apollo, thanks. "I know I'm stuck on something big here but I'll make it back home. Promise."

"Nico-" Will started to say but the son of Hades wasn't finished. Everyone could almost feel his nervous tension. On the other end, Nico took a deep breath.

"Will Solace-" His tone clearly indicated that he was about to say something more and Will wished he hadn't put the phone on speaker because he had a pretty good idea what it was Nico wanted to say.

But then the call cut off and there was a long beep on the other end.

Will stared, stunned.

"I'm sorry, I think that was all of the message." Will's mom came back on. "Are you okay, Will?"

It took awhile for the Apollo counselor to find his voice again and he said, "Yeah, I- thanks mom."

"No problem, honey. I'll call you soon again, okay? Love you." She said.

"Yeah, love you too." He mumbled as the connection broke. Everyone was silent behind him.

Until Leo decided to break it of course, "Wow. Never thought that Nico di Angelo would pull a tenth doctor on us, he's got taste." Then he added, "Which would make Will, Rose Tyler- ow!" He yelped when Piper nudged him on the ribs.

"We better get back to work." Annabeth said to the three as they nodded reluctantly. She turned to the healer, "You coming, Will?"

Will nodded, distracted. "I'm coming, just- just give me a second." The head of the Athena cabin consented and he gestured for the others to go ahead.

Leo and Jason clapped the son of Apollo on the shoulder while Piper said in a soothing tone, "We'll find him." She assured before leaving.

"She's right, you know." Annabeth said when Will said nothing for several seconds.

The blonde son of Apollo let out a breath, "I know." He said before standing up, eyes set in determination, "Let's go."

V. He Almost Gets Drowned by Mother Earth

Frank hovered over them, yelling, "Oh, gods! Oh, gods! Oh, gods!" He yanked some extra clothes from his bag and started toweling off Hazel's face, but it didn't do much good. He dragged Nico farther from the muskeg.

"You were down there so long!" Frank cried. "I didn't think—oh gods, don't ever do something like that again!"

He wrapped Hazel in a bear hug.

"Can't—breathe," she choked out and despite lacking breath, Nico still found it in himself to clear his throat. The son of Mars jumped back, faced flushed.

"Sorry!" And he went back to fussing over them.

Later, when Hazel led them to a safe house nearby to clean up, Frank volunteered to get them some towels and other necessities. Once he was gone, Nico and Hazel made temporary camp. They took off their jackets and tried to scrape off the mud. They found some old blankets in a crate and used them to clean up. They discovered that boxes of greeting cards made pretty good places to rest if you arranged them like mattresses.

Nico set his sword on the floor, running a hand through his muddy hair. He gestured for Hazel to stretch out on a bed of Merry Christmas 1982.

"Thank you for saving me," He said to his sister who gave him a warm smile.

"You would have done the same for me."

"Yes," Nico agreed. "But when I was down in the mud, I remembered that line from Ella's prophecy—about the son of Pluto drowning in the shadows. I thought, 'This is what it means. I'm drowning in the shadows of the earth.' I was sure I was dead."

His voice quavered like it had his first day at Camp Jupiter, when Hazel had told them they were siblings but that she didn't know who he was either.

"Nico," She said, "That prophecy might not have been complete. Frank thought Ella was remembering a burned page. Maybe you'll drown someone else in the shadows."

He looked at her cautiously. "You think so?"

Hazel felt strange reassuring him. He was so much powerful than she would ever be, stronger than even Reyna and maybe even Jason. But she nodded confidently. "You're going to make it back home. You're going to see your boyfriend, Will." She gave him a small teasing smile, "I'm sure he's waiting for you."

Nico flushed, ducking his head. "I- I'm not even sure if I'm dating him." He pointed out.

"Oh please, even though you barely remember him, he's all you talk about in the train." His sister said, "I'm sure that after all of those years together, you guys got somewhere."

"Like you and Frank eventually will when we get back?" He shot back, turning the tables, Hazel flushed. "Should I have my big brother speech ready? I think summoning an army of skeletons would get my message across perfectly, don't you think?"

She punched him on the shoulder, face burning. "Nico!"

Nico gave her a small smile before saying. "I'm serious though, I won't let anyone hurt you, I'll make sure that we all get home safe."

Gold eyes stared at him before the daughter of Pluto leaned against him, "Yeah, I guess that means I better start practicing my 'little sister' speech for when I meet this Will guy."

Nico kissed her on the forehead, "You better." And Hazel smiled.

VI. Thankfully, He Didn't Drown in Shadows

Nico was waiting for them after they defeated the giant. He looked angry. He stood at the edge of the glacier, leaning on the staff with the golden eagle, gazing down at the wreckage he'd caused: several hundred acres of newly open water dotted with icebergs and flotsam from the ruined camp when he'd dug his blade on the ice, shadows rippling through the cracks. The pieces of the glacier looked more gray than white now, it was terrifying.

The only remains on the glacier were the main gates, which listed sideways, and a tattered blue banner lying over a pile of snow-bricks.

When they ran up to him, Nico raised an eyebrow at their stunned faces.

"You're alive!" Frank marveled.

Nico frowned. "The fall? I can shadow travel out of any fall if there are enough shadows. Thankfully, the icebergs breaking to pieces created enough shadows to travel midair and back up."

"Wow," Hazel said looking around.

"The important thing is the only shadow I drowned in was in shadow-travelling out of the fall."

"So the prophecy was incomplete!" Hazel grinned. "It probably said something like: The son of Pluto will drown in shadows to defeat a whole bunch of ghosts!"

Dark eyes narrowed and Nico seemed unsure, "Maybe or it could refer to something else, something about the future. I know that I'm not part of the Seven of the Prophecy so there must be a bigger role waiting for me out there and maybe that's when Ella's prophecy will come to fruition."

Hazel and Frank looked horrified, "You can't think like that! And besides, with how powerful you are? How can you think you're not part of the Seven?"

The son of Hades raised an eyebrow in their direction, "Gaea and Juno told me themselves. Juno said that I have a great role to play in what's to come, though I'm not part of the Seven. Why do you think Gaea tried to drown me in the muskeg? She wanted me to slumber in the earth forever so that I don't get in the way of her plans in reviving her children. She also mentioned that I was a nuisance despite not being part of the Seven."

"Oh." Frank said.

Nico smiled at their faces, "Hey, it's fine. If anything, I'm pretty sure the two of you are part of the strongest Seven demigods in the Prophecy. How couldn't you be?"

The two Romans gave him an 'are-you-crazy-look?' Like they were accosting him for not thinking himself for being powerful enough to be part of the Prophecy but believing the two of them were instead.

"Just trust me." He said as he straightened and dusted at his aviator's jacket. "Brother's intuition."

VII. Yeah, He's Definitely Dating the Hot Blonde Guy in the Cut-Off Shorts

"You're nervous." Hazel whispered to her brother as the ship stayed in place, pausing in its descent. A rope ladder fell from underneath, long enough to touch the ground. "Why are you nervous?"

"I don't know." Nico hissed back, "Maybe it's because I'm still missing months of my memories and I'm pretty sure Will is going to kill me when we see each other."

Frank looked at him in confusion, "But isn't he the son of Apollo? A healer?"

"That won't stop him from being mad. Actually, now that I think about it, it's because he's a medic that he usually gets mad at me." The son of Hades sighed tiredly, "He's always nagging my ears off about eating and about using my powers too much."

"I'm liking him more and more by the second." Hazel said in approval.

"But hey, you and Will are dating right? Maybe he'd be too happy to see you're safe and forget about getting mad." Frank offered.

Nico brushed his long bangs to the side as he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I don't even remember if we're dating. For all I know he's still the 'best friend I have a crush on' or maybe, in the few months I don't remember, he got himself a girlfriend or-" He paled.

The daughter of Pluto patted him on the arm, "It'll be fine, I'm pretty sure he likes you too and that you're dating. He'd be pretty stupid not to make a move on you after all those years together. And Frank's right, he'll be happy to see you're safe."

"Okay." Nico deflated, "But just in case, don't tell him about nearly drowning in the muskeg or falling off a glacier. I'll never hear the end of it. Will can never know about that."

"I can never know about what?"

Nico froze and Hazel and Frank looked up stunned. They just realized that the Romans around them had grown quiet. A tall blonde boy with an archer's build was looking at them with arms crossed. "Nico."

The son of Hades' vision and hearing tunneled, there was a strange buzzing noise in his ears he couldn't get rid of. He turned his eyes towards his blonde best friend, barely aware of the space given by the Romans for them.

Will looked good, better than he last remembered. His shaggy blonde hair was windblown from his time in the ship, pale blue eyes bright and he was wearing his signature orange camp shirt, jeans (instead of his usual cut-off shorts), and flip-flops. He seemed taller and tanner, probably from his time under the sun while he helped the Hephaestus Cabin build the ship hovering over New Rome. His left hand was wrapped in ace bandages, a bad habit he always got into when he was nervous or worried. The familiar scene broke the lump in Nico's throat.

"Will." The son of Hades said weakly, "Hi."

Pale blue eyes narrowed as Will stepped forward and grabbed Nico by the front of his shirt, an angry look on his face. The Romans cried out, some surged forward, but somewhere behind Will, Reyna shouted, "Hold! Stand down!"

For one crazy, nervous, tense second, Nico thought the son of Apollo was finally going to punch him. After all, he'd been doing stupid things all his life and the disappearing act of eight months would have probably taken the cake and made Will snap.

But then again, maybe he should've expected the hard press of lips against his, more.

Nico's eyes widened. Will was warm and smelled like the sun, one of his hands cupped Nico's face and his touch burned and sent electricity racing through his veins.

It all felt familiar.

Okay, Nico thought dizzily, at the back of his mind he could hear a few roman girls plus Hazel, and one of the Greek girls (Piper) squealing. He had a feeling that his sister had slapped a hand over her eyes and was peeking through her fingers. So, I've definitely kissed him before. That's good.

Finally, Will pulled back. Nico could see anger, bitterness, and worry all over the blonde's expression and he opened his tingling mouth to say something but all Nico could say was, "Oh, uh…"

"Eight months, eight long months, Di Angelo." He said in an angry tone, eyes still narrowed. "And all you can say is 'hi'?"

"I- uh…" Really, what else did Will expect him to say? Suddenly appearing like that without any warning, he didn't give time for Nico to collect himself and prepare a speech of apology or anything! And then suddenly kissing him in front of all these people like that! Did Will expect his brain to be working after that display?

Not being able to think straight, the son of Hades just blurted out, "I remember you. You're Will, Will Solace. At first I only remembered what you look like but then I finally remembered your name and I thought about you while I was out on a quest. I called your old phone and during the times when I thought I was going to fail or worse die, I thought about you and I managed to get through everything just because I wanted to see you again."

Everyone was silent again and Will was staring at him wide-eyed, cheeks red. Nico's brain finally caught up with what he said and his own face flushed. Oh gods, why did he say that? If there was any better time for the ground to swallow him up, it would be now. Gaea be damned. Then Nico noticed the long shadows on his feet and thought, Oh okay, shadows could work too.

But just as Nico readied himself to be whisked away by the darkness, Will frowned as though reading his mind. "Oh no, you don't." He said and with quick movements no one could track, he had an ace bandage tied to Nico's wrist and connected to his own wrist.

"Ooh, kinky!" One of the Romans, probably Dakota, yelled before Gwen stepped on his foot.

"Uh, Will, what are you doing?" Jason asked behind them.

Nico scowled, taking advantage of Will letting go of him to shadow travel, but to his surprise his powers didn't work. He shot a wide-eyed look at Will.

"It's a bandage I developed especially for you, Death Boy." The son of Apollo said, tying it securely over his own wrist. He grabbed Nico's hand in his own, and the son of Hades' flush darkened. "It nulls a person's powers temporarily. It's pretty handy especially for those patients who don't listen to Doctor's orders and abuses their powers."

Nico grumbled, glaring at their joined hands, "You're not even a doctor."

"No." Will said as he leaned forward and kissed the scowl off the other's face. "I'm your boyfriend which gives me higher authority to boss you around." Some Romans made a whipping sound and Nico shot them a glare. "Now, as I was saying, eight months." He said pointedly and Nico looked down at the ground guiltily, "And you gave me one phone call. We have a lot to talk about."

He dragged Nico towards the others, turning to Reyna who gave him a raised eyebrow and impressed look. Octavian was steaming in the background. "Where's your infirmary or medical bay? I have to check that this idiot didn't go overboard as always."

"That way, near the Senate House." Reyna pointed out.

Octavian fumed, "Reyna, we can't-" But the Praetor raised a hand of silence in his direction. He let out an annoyed grunt. Will gave his direction a raised eyebrow, Octavian shot him a heated glare.

"Thanks." Will said to Reyna as he shot Octavian a suspicious look before dragging Nico to the direction the Praetor pointed at. The catcalls and whistles followed them all the way to the Medical Bay Area.

When they were out of sight, however, Nico was suddenly pulled into Will's embrace. His dark eyes widened when he felt his arms trembling around him as Will buried his face on his shoulder.

"You have no idea-" The son of Apollo choked out, "I was so worried." Nico uncertainly placed his arms around the other. Will relaxed at his touch, "Gods, you're such an idiot, di Angelo."

Those words seemed to act like a trigger, and the last few months of Nico's missing memory came back to him like puzzles finally fitting into place.

Will laughing at him, pushing him into the lake last summer. Will fussing over him when he got a cold from his time on the lake. Will frowning as he left to go to school while Nico stayed behind at camp as always. Will showing up at camp during Christmas, standing outside of the Hades' Cabin, ears pink and cheeks red from the cold and blushing as he stood under the snow in a blue knitted snow cap and a large, green wool sweater. When Nico asked what he was doing there, the blonde flushed even darker as he pointed at something above the door. It was a mistletoe.

"Gods, you're such an idiot, di Angelo." Will grumbled at him when Nico just gaped in reply, unsure of whether to shadow travel or hide under his bed for all eternity. Before he could do either, the son of Apollo leaned forward and kissed him.

"Solace." Nico said as he pulled back both from the memories and the hug. The blonde looked at him, blue eyes dim in the darkening light. He grabbed the other's face and kissed him at the corner of his mouth, "Thank you." He said when he pulled back.

Will closed his eyes, "If you ever leave me again-" He started to say and Nico smiled.

"I know." He said before leaning forward to kiss him properly this time.

In his mind, all he could think of was: Yeah, he's definitely dating the hot blonde guy in the cut-off shorts.

Author's notes: *happily updates* Yehey, we finally have internet in our place! *celebrates* Thank you, by the way for your amazing review guys! They were more than I can hope for. I guess people like stories when they aren't angst, haha. I'm still gonna recommend my two other Solangelo fics though (Forget-Me-Not Black and I'll Stay With You) XD I hope I can find a good idea for a Christmas fic soon, give me ideas? XD THANKS AND STAY AWESOME SOLANGELO FANSSSS

*hugs all of you and gives you skull and sun shaped cookies*

I used "o_o" because the double dash didn't work -_-