I wasn't going to continue this. I wasn't. But… then Ed Sheeran's "All of the Stars" came on and THIS happened… so I might as well post it. It takes place during the eight months they were apart, so it gets a little angsty but, eh. It's happy at the end!

Here comes the sun, do-do-do doo

Here comes the sun, and I say…

It's all right.

A hand slid out of the mountain of covers and blindly fumbled with the screen of a cellphone for a few moments before succeeding in turning off the alarm. A couple of drawn-out minutes later, the rest of a boy emerged from the blanket-cocoon.

Will Solace yawned and stretched out, plopping back onto his bed after his neck gave a satisfying pop. Immediately, mechanically, his hand found his phone again. He unlocked it and looked in his inbox, smiling when he saw he had one unread email.

Morning. Don't forget your chem notes.

Will checked the time. It was about seven o'clock, which meant it was one o'clock over there. He quickly typed back a reply.

Afternoon, babe! :) And psh u have no faith in me. Xoxo

Dropping his phone back onto his bed, Will stood up and padded into the bathroom, stifling another yawn. He peered into the mirror, wincing at the foreign dark circles under his eyes. Usually, Will was always pretty well rested and rose with the sun even on weekends. He had just had a late night catching up on homework and his studies. It probably hadn't helped that he'd spent most of his evening Skyping his boyfriend.

He showered quickly, humming along to whatever song came on the radio – even though he barely recognized any of them. By the time he got out and walked back into his bedroom with a towel tied loosely around his waist, he had another email.

Don't come crying to me when you fail that class. Check your mailbox. And I mean your actual mailbox.

Flooding with excitement, Will rushed to get dressed. He couldn't find a clean pair of jeans so he ended up shimmying into a pair that was on the floor. He almost tripped as he stepped into his shoes and thrust his arms into a thick jacket at the same time, grabbing a beanie off of the hook near his door. As he descended the stairs, he answered.

My mailbox, hm? Now what could be in there? It's not a puppy… is it?! ;)

He pushed open the main door, shivering as the February chill met him at full blast. He was not a winter person. At all. He couldn't wait until he could go back to shorts and t-shirts, and didn't have to bundle up until he could only waddle like a penguin across the lot to where the mailboxes were kept. He didn't know whose bright idea it was to build the mailboxes outside. Teeth chattering, he unlocked his and was surprised to see a small package inside. The strange red, white, and blue stamping around the edges and excessive labels gave away its foreign origins. Smiling, Will snatched it up and held it close to his chest the entire way back up to his apartment.

When he was halfway up the stairs, his phone buzzed.

It's not an animal, you dolt. Don't miss your class.

I won't, I won't! But first I wanna c what's in this package!

He carefully tore off the paper, trying not to rip the neat handwriting scrawled along the top, and slid it off, revealing another thick envelope. He quickly opened it with less patience than he had with the first layer, and dumped the contents onto his coffee table. The first thing that caught his eye was a folded up piece of notebook paper. He lifted it and began to read.

Will,

I took a lot of photos while I was in New York and well… I made some doubles of a few I thought you'd like. Wipe that grin off your face and don't even think about calling me sentimental. I just, uh… Okay, I know it's only been two months and we have a lot of waiting to do but… I miss you. So yeah.

Shut up,
Nico

Will's thumb traced over the cursive writing with a distant, fond smile.

It had been two months since Nico di Angelo left the United States, two months since they said goodbye in a crowded airport, and two months since Will had been accepted to VIU.

Will wasn't entirely sure what drew him to the Italian student. When he had first walked into McDonald's with his entourage of loud friends, it was all he could do to not spill some woman's milkshake all over her shirt. His entire presence had just captivated him. The way his eyes seemed to bore right down to Will's very core, the way he talked with his hands, and the way his smile could put a halt on time itself… and when he had first talked to Will that had been it. The accent had almost killed him.

When Nico kept coming back, Will wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know anything about the exchange student, especially how he would respond to another guy flirting with him. When Leo Valdez started tailing Nico through the restaurant quoting butchered lines from Romeo and Juliet and making kissy noises, however, it started to get clear as to why Nico's gaze always seemed to drift back to him.

When they finally got around to dating, there were really no words to describe the triumph he felt. After their first date at an Italian restaurant, and Will managed to sneak a kiss onto Nico's cheek, he fled like a distraught mother duck, heart racing and face flaring. It was dumb how one guy could reduce Will to acting like a schoolboy who had his first crush, but Nico did. He made him feel so stupid it hurt.

Will shook himself free of his thoughts in favor of studying the collection of photographs sprawled out across the table. He lifted one of them and immediately broke into a grin. It was of Nico and him at Times Square. Will had an arm around Nico's shoulder, his free hand up in a peace-sign, and was beaming up at the camera. Nico was nearly stone-faced, but there was a gentle upward curve to his lips, which said all that Will needed to know.

The second one he saw was by far his favorite. It was a rather grainy picture of Nico trying to hide a smile behind his straw. It was such a familiar sight that it made Will's heart ached. Without thinking, he raised his phone and sent a very simple message.

I love you.

As soon as the message sent, realization set in. His eyes went wide and he felt a bit lightheaded. What had he just done? Neither of them had said that before, scared to take that plunge into deeper waters. But, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. Warmth spread through Will's winter-chilled fingers. He did love Nico so it shouldn't be such a big deal to say so. Right?

Feeling a strange mixture of happiness and loneliness, Will slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed back outside to get to class, periodically refreshing his inbox whenever he had the chance. Nico didn't respond. Will knew Nico had classes of his own, but he still couldn't help the string of anxiety tightening in his gut.

"Phones away," his professor snapped and Will jumped. He hadn't realized the lecture had even started. He mumbled some sort of apology and shoved his phone into his bag, channeling his focus onto what his professor was saying.

By three o'clock, Will was finished with all his classes for the day, and there was still no response from Nico.

Busy, his optimistic brain interjected quickly. He's just busy.

Another voice, much more pessimistic, said, Or he doesn't feel the same way and you just scared him off.

Will shook himself. No, Nico was definitely busy.

At five o'clock, Will started his shift at McDonald's. He was horribly distracted the entire night, checking his messages every other minute. He almost burnt himself on the fryer several times. One of his coworkers saved him from dipping his hand into the boiling grease while his attention was transfixed on his phone screen. He dropped some poor lady's meal all over the floor and flushed, apologizing to anyone that would listen.

His boss made him take a break. "Clear your head," she said.

Taking a break was quite possibly the worst thing he could have done. He sat, elbows propped on his knees, bent over, staring desperately at the little spinning circle as it synced for any new messages. There were none.

Around six, a familiar group walked in, laughing and boisterous. "Hi, Will!" Piper McLean called as she approached the counter. Will tried to manage a smile, but it came out more like a pained grimace. Piper frowned. "Jeez, what's with you?"

Will sighed. "It's nothing. Just tired. Uh, what can I get you guys?" As if he didn't already know.

Piper got a salad and water, but she would come back up for a burger later. Jason got two cheeseburgers with shredded lettuce. Percy got a fish sandwich and fries. Annabeth went for a chicken sandwich with no tomatoes. Leo always ordered half the menu.

"Uh, dude?" Leo blinked when Will handed him his tray. "This isn't what I ordered. Like at all."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Leo," he muttered, shaking his head.

After he corrected Leo's order, Piper eventually wandered back up for her burger. "Okay, so what's up with you?"

"What?" Will asked, pausing in the act of tapping the screen in front of him. Piper just raised her eyebrow at him, and Will sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"You're usually the most smiley person on the planet. Right now you look like… well, you sort of look like Nico." Will couldn't help the wince that came with hearing that name. Piper understood in a second. "All right, so what's happening with Nico?"

Will's shoulders sagged. "I…" He looked over to where Jason and the rest were talking, oblivious. He sighed again. "I think I did something dumb."

"Like?"

"Like…" He groaned and hid his face in his hand. "Okay, he sent me these pictures of us together and I got really sappy and happy and I told him I loved him. He hasn't talked to me since."

Piper's eyebrows fell sympathetically. "When did you tell him that?"

"This morning. I mean, I know we don't have to talk every day and everything and our lives are pretty busy, but what if he just doesn't feel the same and I screwed up?"

"Impossible," Piper snorted. "Will, Nico's crazy for you. He always was."

Will flushed. "You're just saying that. Besides, feelings can change. What if… what if we're growing apart already?"

Piper rolled her eyes. "You don't seriously think Nico came in here all those times for Happy Meals, do you?" Her smile softened. "You probably just caught him off guard. Talk to him. I guarantee he won't leave you in the dust." She gave him a wink as if she knew something he didn't, took her burger, and walked off.

At eight-thirty, Will was back at his apartment. He shed his thick jacket, gloves, hat, scarf, and snow boots with a frown. He hated winter.

He collapsed onto his bed with a dramatic groan, furrowing underneath the covers with no intention of crawling back out any time soon. Hidden underneath his quilt, the light of his phone screen seemed brighter than usual. His fingers moved across them as he spelt out a new message.

Hey. I know ur prob asleep by now but um… I'm sorry if I rushed anything. U don't have to say anything back. Sorry.

He let the phone drop and buried his face in his pillow. He really didn't expect his phone to buzz just a few minutes later. Immediately, he reached out and unlocked his phone in a heartbeat, feeling uncharacteristically nervous as he opened up his inbox. He could barely breathe when he saw that he had an unread message from Nico.

Merda. No. You're fine. I was just surprised. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry. It's just… no one's ever said that to me before. I mean, my family has but that's completely different. Crap, I really didn't mean for you to worry. Sorry.

Will blew out a relieved breath. Nico didn't hate him. He was just as nervous as Will was. And, though it smarted a little that he didn't say it back, he could deal with that.

Well, I meant what I said. I love you, Nico. And I really can't wait to c u again :)

Feeling immensely better, he let his head plop down to his pillow and shut his eyes. He was exhausted. Even without the extra emotional stress that came with a long-distance relationship, between his studies and work, he was more often than not drained by the end of the day. He set an alarm for thirty minutes and decided to take a little nap before starting on his homework.

Just as he fell asleep, his phone lit up again with a new message that would be waiting for him when he woke up.

…Ti amo.

A/N: So, this might be a collection of one-shots now that all pertain to this AU? I dunno! What do you think?