A/N: The masses have spoken, and I have no self-control. So, here's part two. X3 Really, thank you all for all the Solangelo McLovin'!

Nico's friends were jerks.

He didn't dare tell them about his date with the McDonald's employee in fear of their reactions. Most likely, said reactions would consist of rushing to the restaurant and embarrassing Will to the point that he wouldn't even want to deal with Nico any more. And Nico wasn't going to let that happen.

If anyone was going to screw up things between them it was going to be him, dammit.

Unfortunately for him, he had a habit of misplacing his cellphone in random places. One such place was on his desk, buried under several loose, probably-important papers. Nico was sitting on his bed, studying, while Leo occupied the chair in front of his desk, balancing on the back two legs. Jason and he were talking animatedly about some TV show that Nico had no idea about. "I'm telling you, man. I still don't trust that priest Gabriel guy. Something isn't right!" He ignored them entirely until he heard his text tone. Immediately, he snapped his attention up to his desk, but Leo was already eyeing the phone with mal-intent. He smiled dangerously at Nico and reached his hand out.

"Don't do it," Nico hissed. "Just don't."

It happened all in a flash. Leo lunged for the phone, Nico lunged at him with his hands outstretched in a choking motion, and Jason lunged to step in between them. "Why can't I see it, huh?" Leo taunted, tapping his phone awake. "Is it a dirty text? Oh, you naughty boy."

"Shut up, Valdez! It's not like that at all! It's just…!" Embarrassing. If it was from Will then it would be embarrassing.

"I always knew you Italians are big on the romance stuff but— "

Jason snorted. "Leo, I'm pretty sure Nico shatters all of the Italian stereotypes."

"Both of you shut up! And give me my phone!"

Nico reached out quickly, fingers grazing the smooth, glass screen and inadvertently waking it up. He felt the blood rushing into his cheeks as both Leo and Jason read the text showing.

Hey! I get off at 6 so wanna meet at the library at like 7? Then u can show me that Italian place ur so proud of. ;) PS – I think I met someone that eats McD's more than u. Explain later.

Leo and Jason turned to look at him. "Explain now," his roommate said with an amused grin.

"Is this the McDonald's guy?" Leo laughed. "You have a date with McLovin' It?"

"Call him that again and see what happens," Nico growled. "I don't have to explain anything to you two."

"What did I do?" Jason whined.

Nico snatched the phone out of Leo's open hand while the other boy nearly cried with laughter. He typed a quick reply, holding the phone out of Leo's intrusive line of sight.

…

At six-forty-five, Nico was already at the library. He wasn't one to be early to things, but somehow he just ended up there. He took a seat in a comfy armchair overlooking the entrance and hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt. He fidgeted several times, trying to find a nonchalant posture.

He rarely came to the library since words just seem to float right off the pages, but the café inside made it worth the headache. Maybe, if things went well tonight, he'd see if Will would want to meet up there next. He shook himself. No. Focus on date number one before date number two.

He reread his messages and played a few rounds of The Tower on his phone while he waited; getting more and more anxious the longer he sat. He checked the time. It was fifteen after seven. How late did someone have to be for it to be unacceptable? Should he text him? He was so awful at this. He really had no idea what was considered 'proper'.

He scratched his cheek and looked around, beginning to lose hope. He hadn't just been stood up, had he? He'd go straight to that McDonald's and kick Will's lanky ass.

A sudden buzz alerted him to a text. He nearly jumped right off the chair in his rush to view it.

Hey, I'm here. :-P

Nico glared at his screen and craned his neck to look near the entrance. The library was pretty empty today and Will was nowhere in sight. He frowned.

Same. Where are you?

He heard a little bell-tone behind him and turned around on a hunch. There was a chair sitting behind his, facing the opposite direction, and Will was sitting in it. Nico let out a relieved sigh and tapped him on the shoulder. Immediately, Will jolted and spun around. "Oh!" Will grinned, placing a hand on his chest. "Hey."

"Hey. How long have you been here?"

Will shrugged. "Like… twenty-five minutes? You?"

Nico sighed. "Same."

"So we seriously sat here for nearly a half-hour waiting. Both of us."

"Yep."

Will snorted. "Well, this date is off to a great start."

Nico tried not to look too excited that Will had actually called this a date. He just stood, shoved his hands in his pockets, and nodded in the direction of the door. "Well, let's see if the rest of it works out."

Will smiled wide and copied him. "Lead the way."

The walk was short, but they never fell into an awkward silence. It was easy to carry on a conversation with Will. He seemed to be genuinely interested in just about everything and wasn't shy to list his own hobbies and likes. Nico learned that Will was twenty-one, had wanted to be a doctor for even longer than he could remember, and that, even though he wasn't very good, he liked to play the guitar. Nico offered up a bit about himself, and Will seemed to soak up each word as they went.

"How did you know, by the way?" Nico asked, choosing his words carefully. He stared at the sidewalk while Will gave him a perplexed look.

"Know what?"

"You know that I… That I prefer…" He waved his hands around uselessly. "That I'm…"

Will raised an eyebrow. "Gay?"

Nico sighed. "That."

Will chuckled. "Your friends kind of made it painfully obvious, I'm afraid."

Nico gritted his teeth. "I'm gonna kill them. And here I thought you were oblivious."

"Nah, I thought it was cute. In case you didn't notice, I thought you were so cute that I almost dropped some lady's milkshake all over the place. Oh, is this the place?" Will pointed to a small Italian restaurant ahead and Nico nodded, mute, as he processed the new information.

Will quickly jogged two steps ahead to open the door for Nico, who faltered for a moment before walking in with a smile hidden to himself. He returned the favor at the second set of doors and snorted when Will put a hand over his heart and pretended to look touched.

They were seated quickly at a nice table near the back. The restaurant was lowly lit and the candle in the center was a bit too romantic for Nico's tastes. As he sat down, he wondered if coming here was cliché and predictable. Weren't first dates supposed to be zany, exciting?

His worries were immediately put to rest when Will smiled at him from across the table, taking the offered menu with a quick 'thanks' at the waitress. "Okay. You've been here before, right?" Will opened his menu. "What's good?"

"Everything."

"Okay… what's the best?"

Nico pretended to think hard. "Everything."

Will gave him a look that was far too skeptical.

Nico shrugged and opened his own menu. "I guarantee everything here is better than what you sell."

Will raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Very true. But, uh, man, I can barely read any of this stuff. It's all in Italian!"

"Need me to draw a picture?" Nico asked. He meant it as a joke, but when Will lit up and nodded he found himself using a crayon to doodle crudely drawn pasta. "Right, so, castellane looks like this and torchietti looks like that."

"Okay…" Will observed the awful drawings for a few moments before nodding. He sat up and gave Nico a shy smile. "Order for me?"

Nico dropped his head and laughed. "Yeah. Fine."

After they'd relayed their orders to the waitress, who was overjoyed that Nico could speak Italian, and Nico and she finished their quick conversation in the foreign language, she winked at Will and said, "You've got a good boyfriend. Hold onto him tight and never let him go, you hear?"

Will, who had unfortunately been sipping on his Coke, choked and almost spewed soda everywhere. He looked at Nico quickly before turning bright pink and shaking his head at her. "W-we-we're not… I-I mean…!" Nico was just as embarrassed, but the alarmed look on Will's red face was too amusing. The waitress just winked at them again and left. Nico laughed as Will hid his face behind his hand with a wry smile. "That was embarrassing," he muttered.

"Very."

"Okay, let's change the subject, please. Um… okay, so, why America?" Will asked quickly.

Nico shrugged. "Everyone wants to come to America."

Will twisted his mouth in thought. "Really?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean it's just so diverse here."

"We really don't have anything that different from the rest of the world."

"Untrue. You don't see very many McDonald's where I'm from, and even then none of them are like yours."

Will rolled his eyes. "That's a good thing, yanno."

"You've also got, like, Hollywood and NASA."

"Don't forget spirit-crushing capitalism."

"Crappy cars."

"Fortune cookies. They're from New York, you know."

"Cowboys," Nico added, unintentionally looking Will dead in the eyes as he said it. A little blush skirted up Will's face and Nico held up his hands quickly. "I-I, uh, didn't mean that in, like, a dirty way!"

Will smiled and said, in a very soft voice, "I'll keep that in mind."

Nico flushed. Will just kept smiling and sipped his Coke again.

The rest of dinner went off without a hitch. Will slurped up his pasta with little tact but Nico found it endearing. While they ate, Will kept asking him how to say some things in Italian.

"What's 'drink'?"

"Bevanda."

"Bavandah. Okay, what about 'food'?"

"Cibo."

"Cheeboh. Got it."

Nico didn't correct his pronunciation errors. Will looked far too proud of himself when he asked the waitress for another 'bavandah'. The waitress smiled, gave Nico a sympathetic look, and said she'd be right back.

When it came to the check, both boys reached for it. Will watched him sternly, not letting go. "I've got it."

"No, I brought you here, after all, so I should pay."

"You've spent enough money on fast food this semester. Seriously. My treat."

"I can spend my money however I want." Nico pulled the bill closer to him. "You get the next one."

Will's eyes widened, his grip slackened, and Nico took the opportunity to snatch away the bill completely. When he finished signing for it, Will was smiling at him. "So… there's gonna be a next one?"

Nico's eyes darted to the floor for a moment before flashing back. "Yeah. I mean… if you'd like that."

Will absolutely beamed. "Definitely," he let out in a rush of relieved air.

The walk back was cold and they used that as an excuse to huddle close together. Nico kept his bare hands stuffed in his pockets, mentally wishing he'd played it smart like Will and brought gloves. "Here!" Will said, slipping off one of them and handing it to Nico. "Put this on."

Nico frowned, but did as he was told. "But now your hand is going to be cold."

"Easy fix," Will said and reached over to grab Nico's still-bare hand with his. "There. See?"

Nico smiled. "Clever boy."

Will gave him a cheesy grin.

He was pretty adamant about walking Nico back to his dorm, to which Nico didn't really have any complaints. They didn't talk much, but it wasn't awkward. It almost felt like they'd done this a thousand times already, had known each other much longer. They held hands right up until Nico had to fish out his card to unlock this dorm hallway. When they reached Nico's room, they stopped and the awkwardness quickly caught up to them.

"So, uh… I had a really great time," Will managed.

"Y-yeah. Me too."

Silence.

"I'll text you!" Will blurted out and winced at the sound of his own voice. "I-I mean…" He cleared his throat and, when he spoke again it was in a fake, deep voice and somewhat of a Southern accent, "I'll see you around, cowboy."

Nico wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed, excited, or amused so he settled on shoving Will lightly on the shoulder and laughing. Will took a step closer, breathing an airy laugh, and Nico didn't realize how close together they were until he could feel Will's breath hitting his cheek. Nico's eyes flashed down to his lips and back up, gulping.

"So…" Will started. "How do you say 'kiss me' in Italian?"

"Baciami," Nico answered immediately. His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest he wondered if Will could hear it.

Will just smiled and leaned in to place a quick chaste kiss on Nico's cheek. "Night, Nico," he whispered.

Nico's hand flew up to hold his own cheek, eyes wide. "Yeah. Bye, Will."

They shared a smile and Nico watched him go. Once Will was out of sight, he unlocked his dorm room door and opened it. The door hit something hard and Nico heard several heavy objects slump over along with groans of pain.

Confused, Nico poked his head in and immediately his mood soured.

Jason, Leo, and Percy were lying on the ground. Jason was holding his chin. Percy was rubbing his head. Leo was moaning and had both hands clamped around his nose. Behind them, Annabeth and Piper were sniggering behind their hands.

"So…" Annabeth chimed. "Date went well, we see."

Nico closed the door again and wondered if it was worth ever coming back.

…

Eventually, his friends got over Nico's thing with the McDonald's employee – but not without first humiliating them both in every plausible situation. Even through all that, Will continued to ask him out.

It was on their third date that Will grabbed his wrist, preventing him from going into his dorm, and pulled him down a little bit. "Sorry, I just didn't want your friends to spy on this," he muttered and, before Nico could ask what he meant by 'this', swooped down to kiss him.

They did the classic stuff – like going to other restaurants and to the movies and had coffee – but they also went on less conventional dates. They went on random shopping sprees throughout New York City, tracked down really strange places and tried them out, and they slipped into a group touring the city. Will dragged him to medical lectures at the university and Nico made Will bring him McDonald's while he was studying. Once, Will even dragged Nico to McDonald's afterhours so they could goof around at the playground. Nico had been expecting some romance, but instead the night had pretty much consisted of him chasing a hysterically-laughing Will through the plastic tunnels.

Luckily, Will lived in a little apartment off-campus so they never had to worry about not getting enough time alone. Nico was pretty sure Will had the comfiest couch in all of New York.

"If you think that's comfy you should try my bed," Will said while waggling his eyebrows in such a ridiculous manner that Nico didn't feel bad about chucking a pillow at him.

When December hit, and Nico found himself staring at final exam study guides, the dread began to settle in. He only had two more weeks left in America. Sure, he sort of missed his family and friends back home, but he was going to miss Jason and Piper and Annabeth and Percy and – God – he was even going to miss Leo's crappy attempts at humor.

And Will.

They hadn't really said anything about Nico's inevitable departure. Nico couldn't find the courage to say the words and he was pretty sure Will felt the same. They were enjoying their time together. They didn't want to ruin what time they had left by fretting over the end.

Yet, with less than fourteen days left in the same country as him, Nico couldn't ignore it any longer.

Unfocused and stressed, Nico abandoned studying for his finals and grabbed his wallet and keys. "Be back later," he said to Jason, who was collapsed over a large mound of open text books. His glasses were askew and he looked as if he was in pain as he clutched several index cards. He grunted in response and Nico left, mood matching the murky grey sky as he walked mechanically.

A bit of snow began to drift down, dusting the frozen ground in white. It was pretty to watch, but Nico missed feeling the warmth of the sun hitting his face, missed the secure feeling he got from back in September when he still had months to waste time quoting movie quotes with Will. By the time he reached the McDonald's, he was miserable.

Will was working his Tuesday shift, standing behind the counter with a cheerful smile on his face as he handed a girl her change. The smile faded when he saw Nico's stony face as he approached. "Hey, babe. What's wrong?"

Nico pretended not to notice the way the girl's eyes bugged out when she overhead Will calling him 'babe'. He also pretended not to notice that Will called him 'babe' at all. Instead, he slumped against the counter and sighed. "I don't want to go."

There was a brief moment of silence then he heard Will give a sigh. "I go on break in ten minutes. Go and wait for me?"

Nico nodded and took a seat at one of the empty booths at the back of the restaurant. A short while later, Will joined him, holding an envelope. "I was gonna wait until after finals to tell you, but… well… Here." He handed him the envelope.

Nico raised an eyebrow and took it. It was addressed to Will, from the university. He extracted the letter inside and began to read aloud. "Dear Mr. William Solace, we are happy to announce that you have been accepted into the study abroad program next fall at…" he trailed off, eyes widening as the words' meanings slowly took root. "W-Will… it says here you're going to VIU."

Will's smile could power a sixty-watt light bulb. "Sure does!"

"As in Venice International University. In Venice. Italy, Venice."

"Yup!"

Nico wasn't sure what the feeling was in his chest, but it was warm and light and overwhelming. "Why does it say you're going to VIU next fall?"

Will chuckled. "That should be obvious, but I'll bite. I have a little extra money to splurge on. I was gonna use it to get a nice car but I figured – hey—why don't I spend my senior year in Italy instead?"

"B-b-but…" Nico looked at the letter and back to Will repeatedly.

Will took his hand. "Are you saying you don't want me to go?"

"No!" Nico blurted quickly. "I… I just… You haven't known me that long! Why would you come to Italy for someone you barely know?"

Will squeezed his hand. "I do know you, Nico. I know we haven't known each other for very long but… but this feels right, Nico. I don't want it to end." He gulped, looking nervous. "Do you?"

"I…" He sighed. "No, I don't want it to end either. I'm just… surprised." He put on a smile. "So… you're actually going to spend a full year in Venice?"

"Yup!" Will lit up and lifted their connected hands to kiss Nico's knuckles. "You can show me the highlights of your country. If you're willing to wait for me."

"Idiot," Nico said fondly. "Of course I will."

…

Saying goodbye was harder than he thought. Jason had to practically pry Leo off of him at the airport. Piper and Annabeth hugged him tightly. Percy made him swear to keep his promise and Oovoo them all regularly. "It's not goodbye," Jason told him. "We're totally gonna visit you for spring break next year. We can crash at your villa, right?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure my father would love to have a bunch of strange American college students sleeping on his floor."

"Awesome!" Jason grinned, the sarcasm flying over his head.

Will walked him as far as security would let him go, holding his hand in a vice-like grip the whole time. "It's just until August," Will kept saying, almost to himself. "Eight months."

"It'll go fast," Nico tried to assure him, but he was barely able to look him in the eye. Eight months sounded like an eternity.

"I'll Skype you," Will promised. "And I'll send you emails and I'll write you actual letters and send you stuff and tag you in Facebook posts and—"

"Will!" Nico cut across him. "I get it."

"Right."

Nico couldn't trust himself to say the actual words so he grabbed either side of Will's collar and pulled him into a kiss until the security guards cleared their throats. He pulled away and, while Will was still dazed, slunk backwards in the direction of the terminal, holding Will's hand until the very last possible moment.

As soon as his plane took off from the American ground, Nico wondered if that warm, light feeling in his chest was love.

...

Eight Months Later

...

Nico bounced excitedly on his toes, neck craned at a painful angle in an attempt to see over the thick crowd of tourists buzzing through the airport. He kept his phone clutched to his heart, periodically switching between glancing at the screen and the sea of people.

Walking out now! Love u!

Eight months. He had waited eight months for this moment. He had spent eight months stalking his inbox, loving and hating Skype, and daydreaming of a bright smile. It had been tough. They had fought. They had cried. They had nearly come undone and lost it all, but, somehow, they had persevered and Nico was finally standing in the airport on a hot August day, searching desperately for head of thick blonde hair and tan skin.

His phone buzzed and he looked at it like a starving man staring at a morsel of food.

Look left! :)

Nico immediately spun around to his left, heart pounding. He frowned as he didn't recognize anyone. His phone went off again.

Oops. Other left. :P

Nico rolled his eyes before swiveling to his right and his heart leapt up into his throat. Standing a few feet away, suitcases all around his feet, stood Will Solace, looking as wonderful as he had last fall. No, he looked even better. And he was standing there in Italy where he would stay for a full year.

At once, he barreled himself into Will's waiting arms, wrapping his own around Will's neck with no intention of letting go. Will chuckled and it sounded so much better when Nico could feel it reverberate against his chest and not through a crackling speaker.

Will held him tight, nuzzling his hair with a happy sigh. "Hi."

Nico half laughed and half choked. "Hey."

"I missed you."

"Me too. But you're here now so…"

Will hugged him even tighter. "That's right. Did you shrink?"

Nico hit his arm, but kept his hand there, noting the growth of muscle there. "Idiot. You just got taller."

Will just hummed and went back to hugging him, uncaring of the attention they may have gotten. Nico just clung onto him and mumbled a few things in Italian he wasn't quite ready to say in English just yet. The crowd parted around them, but he didn't even notice. Nothing really mattered as long as he could feel Will's heart beating against his.

Nico wasn't sure what they would do in a year, when they had to separate again, but they had time to figure it all out. For now, he had a city to show off and sights to see and a life to live.

However, their first meal together in Italy was at a very over-priced McDonald's.