Author's Note: Hi again, I hope you all have been enjoying my story so far. I wasn't too happy with the last chapter, but I think this one's a little better. Again please review with constructive criticism, it's greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Reyna stepped up to the podium, when all the Greek campers loaded off the bus and into the dining hall.

"Welcome Camp Half-Blood. Though we were driven apart for centuries but it is an honor that you came to visit us today," she said clearly. A few Romans booed at this, but she ignored them and kept talking. "This trip symbolizes the start of a new era. An era of unity, where every demigod is welcome at Camp Jupiter."

"Is she always that stiff and professional?" Will whispered.

"Yeah, pretty much. She gets better once you get to know her," Nico responded.

"Let the feast begin!" Reyna clapped her hands and the wind nymphs zoomed around distributing food.

Reyna, Hazel, and Frank joined the Nico, Will, and the rest of the Seven at their table.

"Hi Nico. How are things at camp?" Reyna asked.

"I've been good," Nico said, squeezing Will's hand under the table, which caused him to blush. "How have things been in New Rome?"

"Busy," she sighed. "I have to do a lot of work involving the aftermath of the battle. Even though Octavian is gone, not all of his supporters are."

They joined in the group conversation and talked about camp life and teased Percy for eating blue food for the rest of the meal.

That evening, Nico and Will were walking along the boundary of New Rome, admiring the view of the San Francisco Bay. They were holding hands, but let go when they heard someone walking behind them. They weren't ready for random people in New Rome to know about their relationship. Nico sighed in relief when he saw it was only Reyna who walked up beside them.

"Hey, di Angelo. Really, how are things going?" Reyna asked. Her metal dogs, now repaired, circled around them. "I hope you're socializing and not fading away."

"No, for real, I'm great," Nico said casually. He figured that this was probably the best time to introduce Will. Reyna was going to find out sooner or later. At least they had privacy now. He glanced at Will and he nodded in approval. "This is Will. He's my um, boyfriend."

Reyna shook Will's hand. "I'm Reyna. Praetor of the Twelfth Legion. These are my dogs Aurum and Argentum," she said proudly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You guys have my full support and welcome to New Rome."

"Um, I'm Will Solace. And uh, I'm the head counselor of the Apollo cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Also I'm a medic," Will said not expecting a formal introduction. "Thanks for the support."

"No problem, I'm here if either of you need anything," she said. "I have to go welcome the other people from your camp now, but I'll see you around." With this final statement she and her dogs walked back towards the main part of camp.

Nico walked Will back to the Apollo cabin. The Romans were willing to share their cabins for a few days, and Nico hoped that Hazel didn't decide to partition Pluto's cabin too. They walked away from the other campers, and went behind the cabin, where they could have some privacy.

"Hey, Nico," Will said, smiling and pulling him close. Nico quickly leaned in and pressed their lips together.

"This trip is going to be so much fun!" Will said, pulling back for air.

"Yeah, it will be," Nico said, wishing he could have come up with a better response.

"Hey, we should go on a date tomorrow night. I always wanted to explore San Francisco," Will suggested as he ran his fingers along the back of his boyfriend's neck.

"Sure. That would be good. Do you want to take a taxi again or should I call my zombie chauffeur," Nico whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"No. I get enough of a death vibe from dating you. We're taking a cab," Will stated. As much as Will loved Nico, his Underworldly traits sometimes made him uneasy. The son of Apollo just couldn't bring himself to trust a zombie.

"Whatever," Nico said, "We're eating dinner with the rest of the camp though, or we could just explore New Rome." Will let out and exaggerated sigh.

"Let's go into the city," Will affirmed. "Reyna and Frank will probably give us a tour of Rome tomorrow." Nico nodded, as much as he wanted his date to be in New Rome, Will did have a point. He also wanted to see the Little Italy part of town.

Will gives Nico another hug. "Aww, Nico, you're so cold. Have you been shadow traveling again?" He said, concerned. Nico bit his lip and turned away, he had shadow traveled a few times, but he was not about to tell Will that. "Or have you spent too much time sulking in your dark cabin?"

"I don't sulk that much," Nico protested.

"Yeah, you do. Ask Piper, I'm sure she'll agree with me. Also, you probably have a vitamin D deficiency from spending so much time in your dark cabin," Will laughed. Nico was scowling, but he didn't care. All the stuff he said was true and he thought it was cute when Nico pretended to mad.

"We are not going to talk about my health right now," Nico snapped.

Will gave him a quick kiss and said, "Fine, but you need more sun."

"Well, goodnight then," Nico said, pulling away, but Will leaned in close again.

"See you at breakfast," he said giving him one last kiss. Nico walked back to the Pluto cabin, that he shared with Hazel, which (thankfully) did not resemble a quarantine zone. He planned to tell her about his new life at Camp Half-Blood, but she was already fast asleep.

The next morning Will got up at the crack of dawn to go to the archery range. He grabbed a bow with an intricate Roman design that looked about the right size and pointed it at the target. He nocked an arrow and pulled the string back. This bow was heavier than the one he used at Camp Half-Blood, and when he released the arrow it fell to the ground, 5 feet short of the target.

Will swore and was glad no one was watching. Though combat was not his forte, he didn't want his reputation as an archer to go from satisfactory to horrible. He shot 3 more rounds of arrows, getting better each time, in solitude until he heard the door to the range creak open.

"Oh, hello there!" The archer gasped, just as surprised to see Will as Will was to see him.

"Uh, hi. Sorry if I'm in your way. I was just getting some morning archery in," Will stuttered.

"No, you're fine," the man Will recognized as Frank Zhang said. "You know you're pretty good," he added, gesturing . Will was taken aback by this.

"I don't know about that. It might be a son of Apollo thing. I'm more of a healer though," he said.

Frank's eyes widened. "You're a son of Apollo? I was hoping I would be, but I'm a son of Mars instead. I'm Frank, by the way," he said formally introducing himself and he shook Will's hand.

"Hey, I'm Will," he said. "Do you do a lot of archery?"

"Yeah, it's my main weapon," he laughed. "Though,once my father gave me a spear the summoned some sort of zombie skeleton. It was not my favorite thing."

Will laughed too. "Sounds like something my boyfriend would do," he said without thinking. Frank raised his eyebrows again.

"Your boyfriend?" He asked curiously. Will regretted bringing the topic up. While he didn't care who knew about his sexuality, it would only bring awkward moments between Nico and Frank later.

"Yeah. He's a son of Hades, pretty into death, if you know what I mean..." Will said hoping Frank would change the subject.

"Yes, I do, actually. My girlfriend is a daughter of Pluto. Hazel do you know her?" He responded. Will shook his head, he knew she was Nico's half-sister, but he never met her.

"Do you think you can give me some archery pointers? I might as well practice while I'm here," Will said turning back to the range.

"Yeah, it would help if you didn't arch your back, it's easier to aim Frank suggested. Will stood a little straighter and he shot his first bullseye of the morning.

"Aw, thanks. You know, maybe I'll start doing archery more," he said. They shot a few more rounds rounds, giving each other tips and generally having a good time.

"Hey, I have to get to breakfast because I'm a praetor, but it was nice meeting you," Frank said, checking his watch.

"Oh, no problem, thanks for the advice," Will said. "I'll shoot another round and then meet you there."

"Okay," Frank said, walking away. He paused in his tracks. "Oh yeah, you and your boyfriend are always welcome in New Rome. I'm from Canada, so I have a more progressive view on life. Let know if anyone gives trouble."

"Thanks, I'll see you around."

"Bye." With this final word Frank left and went to breakfast. Will shot his final ground of arrows reviewing the conversation in his head. He found it hard to believe that he just came out to an almost complete stranger, but he felt a strange sense of accomplishment as well.

For the first time in his life, Nico woke up before his alarm. It must be the time change, he thought. The sun was barely peeking through the curtains and Hazel was rubbing her eyes awake.

"Good morning Nico," she yawned. She forced herself out of bed and sat down next to Nico on the couch.

"Good morning Hazel. How have things been at Camp Jupiter?" Nico asked.

"I've been great. I have been helping Frank and Reyna restore the legion to normal. We still have some loyalty problems," Hazel said.

"Oh, how's Frank doing?" Nico asked, keeping the conversation oriented toward Hazel. Though he loved his sister very much, she was still from the 30's and he didn't want open up about his personal life quite yet.

"Oh, we're having so much fun! Last week he took me to San Francisco for a date and we had the best cannoli," she said excitedly.

"That's good. How is he dealing with the extra workload?" Nico asked.

"He's doing such a good job as praetor. People are accepting his leadership much more easily than I expected, to be honest," she shrugged. "What about you? How's Camp Half-Blood?"

"It's good," he said. "So you and Frank. Am I still going to be one of the groomsmen at your wedding?" He added, changing the subject.

"Yeah of course," she laughed. "If I can be the maid of honor at yours. Oh, by the way, are you dating anybody?"

"Umm..." Nico froze. "I think it's time for breakfast." Nico didn't know why he was having trouble telling Hazel about Will. He trusted his sister with his life, but he couldn't tell her about something as trivial as his boyfriend?

"Come on, we have 20 more minutes," she whined, interrupting his train of thought.

"I want to get there early," Nico lied as he left the cabin to go find Will. When he couldn't find him, he just went to the dining hall and waited outside.

"Hey Nico," Frank said, making Nico jump back in surprise.

"Oh, hi Frank," he said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he answered. "So, I met your boyfriend."

Whatever Nico was expecting to hear, it wasn't this. "You did?" He asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Will. I met him in the archery range this morning. He's pretty cool, a good archer too," Frank said casually, ignoring how stiff Nico was.

"Yeah, about that," Nico said awkwardly. "Do you know what Hazel's opinion on homosexuality is? I want to tell her about Will, but I'm not sure how she'll react, being from the 1930's and all."

"Nico, I'm sure she'll be fine," Frank said, softening. "She was a victim of discrimination too. You know that she's a nice person, and I think it would be better if you didn't hide things from her."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll introduce her to Will," Nico sighed.

"Good. She's your sister and she deserves to know." He said. "I have to manage the dining hall now, but good luck." Frank walked away just as Will walked into the pavilion.

"Hey, Death Boy," Will said giving Nico a quick kiss on the lips.

"Do not call me that," Nico said through gritted teeth.

"Whatever. But I think the name suits you," Will said playfully, ruffling his boyfriend's hair.

"You know what? We're not going to go over this right now. I actually want to talk to you about something," Nico said. He led him inside and chose a table away from other campers.

"You know, you're pretty energized considering how early in the morning it is," Will said, clasping his hands together. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well…," Nico said hesitantly. "I want you to meet my sister."

"That's great! I want to meet her too."

"The thing is, she doesn't know I'm gay. And since she's from the 1930's I'm not sure how she'll react," he said, choosing his words carefully.

"I think you should tell her," Will said. "It's better than her finding out the hard way."

"I tried to tell her this morning, but I kind of chickened out," Nico admitted, embarrassed. Will took his hand from across the table.

"I can be there to help you, if want. Even if she disowns you, I'll be there to support you," Will said, stroking Nico's cheek.

"I don't think she is going to disown me or do anything that dramatic, but yeah, I want you to be there. Just introduce yourself as my boyfriend," Nico instructed.

"Attention everybody!" Reyna announced, stepping up to the podium. "Frank and I will give a tour of the camp to our Greek visitors. For those of you who wish to go on the tour, we will be congregating in the courtyard shortly after breakfast. After lunch we will play capture the flag or as us Romans know it, war games. Greeks versus Romans, of course!" This last statement caused the hall to erupt in cheers.

"Don't worry, I'll side with the Greeks," Nico said to Will, squeezing his hand.

Piper stood up and faced Reyna. "Won't it be better if we integrate the teams? We're all about friendship and unity now, right?" She asked.

Reyna shrugged off her comment. "Ah, McLean. We may be friends but we're still competitive." The hall gave a big "ooooohhhhh," and Piper sat down, slightly red in the face. Jason gave her a pat of reassurance on the back. Everyone quickly finished their breakfast, excited for the day's events, and the Greeks met Reyna and Frank outside.

"Hello everyone! We're Reyna and Frank, the praetors of New Rome as you may or may not know. Camp Jupiter, as you see, is a wonderful place and we hope many of you visit again in the future. I'm not why all of you are here for the tour," Reyna said eying Jason, Percy, and Nico.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Will whispered.

"You're here and it's not like I had anything better to do," he answered. "Besides, I don't know my way around camp that well. I didn't really get out much when I was here last," he added sheepishly.

"In honor of our new found friendship the senate has elected to wave a Camp Half-Blood flag from atop the senate house along with our Roman one," Reyna said regally. The Greeks applauded.

"You know, maybe we should display a Camp Jupiter flag back home too," Annabeth said to Percy, who just shrugged. They turned back to the tour, where Reyna was explaining the Pomerion line. Will was listening with interest, while Nico took in the beautiful scenery.

"No offense to Reyna or anything, but this tour is pretty boring, we haven't made it to the infirmary yet and it doesn't look like we're going to," Will said after a couple hours of walking around camp with the group. At first he found it interesting, but as it went on it became tedious to listen to. Nico wasn't even paying attention from the start because he already knew his way around the camp.

"Let's get to lunch early," Nico said. Will nodded and they headed over to the dining hall. They were both hungry and not in the mood to eat with the crowd. The walked into the hall, Will's arm wrapped around Nico's waist. Nico jumped back in surprise when he saw Hazel setting the tables. Will promptly dropped his arm.

"Oh, hi Nico," she said. "I'm here doing my duty as a centurion, if you were wondering," she added gesturing to the plates and napkins.

"Hi Hazel. We just came to get lunch early," Nico said, tense.

"Who's your friend here? I'm Hazel, Nico's half-brother," Hazel said as she shook Will's hand.

"Tell her now," Nico hissed to Will.

"Are you sure you don't want to?" Will whispered back. For Hazel, who momentarily turned her focus back to the tables, their exchange went unnoticed.

"I'm Will," he said. He gave Nico a quick glance, and he nodded. This was his first time intentionally coming out to someone (with Piper and Frank it just sorta happened) and his heart was racing. Finally he worked up the courage to say, "I'm his boyfriend."

"Oh!" Hazel gasped dropping a fork. She hastily picked it up and tried to mask her surprised expression. "So you're dating?" She asked.

"Yep," Will said.

"But you're-" she said getting cut off by Nico.

"Right. We're both guys."

"Oh. Well, okay," Hazel looked at them once more, as she was trying to imagine them as a couple, before heading back to work. Nico watched her for a moment before turning back to Will. Honestly, he got a better reaction than he was expecting. He knew his sister would be civil about it, but he was expecting her reaction to be more negative.

They ate their lunch quickly and headed back to the Pluto cabin, that was newly erected thanks to Jason, to get ready for capture the flag.

"We're required to wear our Camp Half-Blood shirts if we want to play," Will said pushing open the door.

Nico rolled his eyes. "We're not required to."

"It may not have explicitly said so in the rules, but you are going to participate with the rest of the camp and wear it," Will said. He opened Nico's suitcase and scowled. "Do you even have a camp t-shirt?"

"No I don't, so I guess I can't wear one," Nico said with false sadness.

"Well lucky for you I brought an extra," he said an he pulled two orange shorts out of his bag. Will took off his 'I love NY' shirt and Nico tried not to get caught staring at him. But of course, Will caught him anyway. "You know we're dating so it's okay to look at me like that," he said flexing his muscles. Nico turned bright red and buried his face in his hands, but Will only smirked.

Will put on his camp one his camp short and threw the other one to Nico. He quickly changed and looked at himself in the mirror. "It's so bright," he said, frowning.

"That's the point, to show camp spirit," Will said pulling him into a big hug and giving him a peck on the lips.

After lunch, the two camps faced off in the forum. There was a sea of purple and a sea of orange. Now Nico was glad he wore his orange shirt because he didn't stand out as much, though his dark Stygian Iron sword still attracted a lot of attention.

"The first multi-camp game of capture the flag will begin in 3... 2… 1…" Reyna announced. "Go!" She shouted as Chiron blew the starting horn. Campers ran in all directions, most of them going into the forest.

"This isn't going to be like capture the flag back home. It will have a Roman twist. They'll dig tunnels and stuff," Nico said pointing at the fort where the flag was probably hidden. They then realized they were some of the only people left in the starting area and they hurried off into the trees. He looked around nostalgically. "Last time I was here, I watched from the sidelines."

"Well, whether you like it or not, you're going to participate," Will snapped, not having time for Nico to review his long, and depressing past. "Let's do offense this time. I would volunteer to help out in the infirmary, but it looks like the Romans have it under control."

"We need to get past those walls," Nico said, pointing to the barricades set up by the Romans. Beyond them was the permanent fortress that was presumably hidden deep inside. "Maybe I can summon a ghost army to help-"

"No. You're not doing that," Will stated. "You may think you're fine, but summoning ghosts is seriously damaging to your health. I have not forgotten how close you were to fading away just a few days ago in the KFC parking lot where we fought Melinoë." Nico dropped Will's hand and turned away. He did not need to be reminded of that right now.

"Fine. Well do it the hard way and fight our way in," Nico said.

"You're a good sword fighter," Will said encouragingly. They ran around to the edge of wall, where it was relatively unprotected. Most of the Romans were with their cohorts, taking on the Greeks 10 at a time. "This kinda reminds me of the battle. Except the Romans aren't aiming to kill us."

"Camp Jupiter has been around for 3,000 years. It has been in various locations, and has had its ups and downs, but it never lost its competitive streak," Nico said before bringing the conversation back to the game. "Our best bet is to create a diversion, and climb that wall, hopefully without being seen."

"Too bad Lou Ellen didn't want to come. She could be helpful right now," Will replied. Nico nodded, a pig ball could be useful.

"Let's go," Nico said and he jogged off towards the barricade. Will quickly caught up and the hid behind a tree until the Roman on guard turned his back.

"There's no way to get by without him noticing," Nico whispered, pointing at their opponent. "Are you sure you can't just shoot him with your bow?"

"No. The arrow will just bounce off his armor. It would give away our location and he would attack us. I think we should hold off on the sparring until we get inside the wall," Will answered. "Any other diversion ideas?" As if on cue, the water cannons exploded and Nico knew Percy had something to do with it. The Roman ran off to check what the commotion was about, leaving a clear path into the fortress.

"Now!" Will yelled. They ran to the wall and started to climb it, using the rocks as natural footholds. But another Roman legionnaire spotted theM and yelled for help. They started to climb faster. Will's foot slipped, but he was still holding on. "Nico! Help pull me up," he cried.

Nico who was already at the top of the wall reached down and grabbed Will's arm. Will was able to regain his footing and continued to climb. "We're going to have to jump," Nico said, looking down. "It's only a ten foot drop though. We trained for this at camp." Will looked at him uncertainly. He had seen enough fall related injuries, that heights made him nervous. He grabbed Nico's hand for reassurance and the jumped.

"Okay," Nico said after a hard landing. "That was the easy part. Now we have to get the flag." Will pulled Him for a quick kiss before Percy and Jason ran up behind them.

"Hey! Let's team up," Jason said enthusiastically. "So you guys got over the wall too? Percy exploded the water cannons back there, but he's tired so don't expect him to do it again."

"Yeah, we saw," Will said. "So what's the plan?"

"Okay. You," Percy said pointing at Will. "Can stay a little bit behind us and shoot the Romans from afar. Me, Jason, and Nico can go can sword fight our way through, get the flag, and the come back. If any of us get hurt, it would be great if you could bandage us up quickly because we don't have time for the eagles to rescue us," he continued. Will looked slightly taken aback. If he made the battle plan, this is not how it would have gone. He wasn't confident enough in his archery skills to moving human targets and Percy didn't understand that healing wasn't as simple as putting on a bandage.

"Um, okay," Will said hesitantly. "Just know that for serious injuries you'll be better off with the eagles taking you to the infirmary than me treating you in the field."

"Okay, let's go before they attack us first," Jason said and the hurried off to the fort. Will trailed about twenty feet behind them, his bow ready.

Their first real threat came at the entrance to the citadel. Three Romans were guarding the doorway with their swords drawn and shields up.

"Charge!" Percy yelled without thinking, his ADHD battle instincts taking over. He ran at the biggest, strongest, and toughest legionnaire an started to fighting him. The other Greek demigods were surprised by this sudden attack but quickly joined in on the action.

Nico found himself fighting Dakota. Dakota was fast but Nico was faster. Nico slashed and charged at him, but he only hit his shield. This was when he noticed Dakota's weak spot. He was too dependent on his shield. He put the tip of his sword under the bottom of the shield and twisted. The shield slipped off his arm and fell to the ground. Nico grabbed it before Dakota could pick it up and continued fighting. He quickly cornered him and ran his sword through his arm. He didn't want to seriously injure him but he was hurt enough for the giant eagle to come pick him up.

"I got one of them down," Nico called to Jason and Percy. Will was standing back quickly tending another Greek's injury. He ran inside and told Jason to catch up with him in a minute. He didn't know if there was going to be another chance to get inside the fort without fighting.

He ran up 3 flights narrowly missing the traps that the Romans set up even though an arrow grazed his hair. He found it relatively unprotected considering how close it was to the flag. The Romans must have assumed that no one would get this far. He found his self facing the flag, but there was someone in his way. Reyna.

"Ah, Nico di Angelo. We may be friends but I'm not about to let you walk away with the flag unscratched," she said mischievously. Nico didn't have time to chat. He drew his sword and charged.

There was no denying it. Reyna was a better fighter. Within seconds she had Nico pinned up against the wall. Even though Nico preferred fighting solo, he would need help if he wanted to win.

"Percy! Jason!" He called, embarrassed that Reyna was basically watching him admit defeat. As if the gods answered his prayers he heard them thundering up the steps.

"Nico we got you!" Jason yelled as he and Percy stepped in to join the battle with Reyna. Will ran up behind and stole the flag and ran back down the stairs. The others quickly got up and ran after him, leaving Reyna shocked that they managed to steal the flag from under her nose.

"Let's go quick!" Nico said. "We only need to get to the wall." They sprinted through the Field of Mars, waving the flag above their heads like a banner. They were fifty feet from the when Nico felt a piercing pain in his shoulder.

"Keep going!" Will yelled, hanging back to check on Nico. There were was an arrow, which no doubt was Frank's, sticking out of his back and the wound wasn't pretty. He pulled the arrow out and quickly shoved some ambrosia into his boyfriend's mouth. Nico savored the taste of his mother's Italian pasta and kept running towards the wall.

By time Nico made it to the line, his wound was mostly healed and Jason and Percy were already celebrating their victory with the rest of the Greeks.

The elated Greeks and the crestfallen Romans crowded into the dining hall. Though Camp Jupiter lost they were hopeful for many games of capture the flag in the future.

After dinner Will and Nico left Camp Jupiter through the Caldecott tunnel and ended up in the heart of San Francisco. They were in the central business district, 2 blocks away from Little Italy.

"I know a really good dessert place around here," Nico said looking at the neighborhood directory.

"Let's go then," Will said giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, which made him blush furiously. "Just make sure it's not too unhealthy." Nico rolled his eyes, he had long since given up trying to contradict Will's medical advice. They started walking and the scenery around them changed from skyscrapers to Italian flags and bakeries in two short blocks.

"How much Italian do you actually remember?" Will asked holding Nico's hand.

"Enough," Nico answered vaguely, "not quite fluent anymore though."

"That's cool. I took one year of French in school before I knew I was a demigod. I was horrible at it though. Not too great at Ancient Greek either. I know the hymns for Apollo and that's about it," Will laughed.

"We're here," Nico said stopping in front of a place called Classic Italian Sweets. "Let's get some cannoli."

"I have never had this before," Will said with his mouth full of cannoli. "It's really good though."

"Just one of the many Italian desserts most Americans are missing out on," Nico shrugged and they walked a few more blocks before Will sighed loudly and sat on the bench at a bus stop.

"You know, it's pretty late and it's going to take forever to walk anywhere. Let's just take a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge," he complained. Nico pulled him close, gave him a kiss on the cheek and they cuddled on the bench waiting for the bus until a Will suddenly perked up. "I have a better idea. Let's take the cable car!"

They walked to the nearest cable car stop and waited, in silence, but totally in love. A minute later the cable pulled up, they hopped on and found a seat in the back, where the watched the San Francisco nightlife go by.

"This is a beautiful city," Will said, and Nico smiled in agreement. Now he started to choose his words carefully. "You know, maybe when we're older," he started, fading away. He had a bold proposal in mind, but he had no idea how Nico would react.

"Yeah, what?" Nico asked impatiently. He had waited many years before he was accepted himself for who he was and seven days doing nothing in a bronze jar, patience still wasn't his strong suit.

"Around Percy and Annabeth's age, we could possibly… live here?" He said hesitantly. He also felt the need for a quick explanation. "I understand if you don't want. I know you didn't have a great experience at Camp Jupiter before, but I want to go to college and medical school. I want to live a long, full life and I don't think Camp Half-Blood is going to give that to us." Nico stared at him with a mix of emotions on his face.

"I think we're kind of young to discuss this now, but you're right. Most Greek demigods don't live into the adulthood and I want us to be the exception. I want to stay a Camp Half-Blood for a couple more years, but maybe afterwards we can come here. Before I met you I wanted to die, but now I want to life a full life," he said. Never in a million years did Nico ever imagine he would give a long sedimental speech like that, but being with Will was changing his as a person. In a good way. "With you," he added.

Will's heart melted, when he heard Nico say this. It was unexpected, but he never loved his boyfriend more. "You're right, we shouldn't think about this now. But you have never made me happier," he leaned in for a kiss. "I'm so lucky to have you." There they were, kissing on the back of the cable car; the moment was both tranquil and passionate, spontaneous and planned, but only one thing was certain. Neither of them wanted it to end.

"Next stop Golden Gate Bridge!" The cable car driver called. They paid the driver, hopped off the car, and Will looked at the bridge in awe.

"Please don't tell me you were expecting the bridge to actually be gold," Nico said sarcastically.

"No. I wasn't," Will said glaring at his boyfriend. "I have never seen it in person before and was just appreciating the architecture," he added, even though he was slightly disappointed about the color.

"You're turning into Annabeth," Nico said, rolling his eyes. Will ignored this and took Nico's hand and pulled him on to the bridge. They walked slowly across the bridge, quietly talking about their time in New Rome so far. By time they reached the middle, night was falling, with only a few rays of sunlight remaining. The effects was mesmerizing and romantic. Will took the opportunity to wrap his arms intimately around his boyfriend's waist and they watched the sun dip below the horizon. They stood like this for quite a while, Will resting his head on Nico shoulder, until someone walked up behind him.

"Do you want me to take a picture?" The man said. Will jumped a little but he gave him his phone, which only head counselors were allowed to have.

"Yeah, that would be great," he said. Nico leaned over the railing a little and Will raised Nico's arms before wrapping his own around his waist again. "Trust me on this," he whispered, when he saw Nico's confused expression.

"3… 2… 1… Got it," he said handing the phone back. "It's a classic Titanic moment, but better. Have a good one." Will smiled. At least someone got his reference. They stood in the middle of the bridge for a few more minutes, savoring the moment before they decided to head back.

Back at camp, Will lead Nico back to his cabin. "I had fun tonight. I hope we can come back here sometime," he said kissing him deeper than he ever had before. After what seemed like an eternity, Nico pulled away.

"Yeah, me too," he said lamely, wishing he could think of something better to say. Will leaned in closer, his lips brushing his ear.

"Nico, you mean the world to me," he whispered. "Before I met you I had a bit of a temper, was a little too obsessed with my work as a medic, and struggling with my sexuality. You helped me mellow out a bit. Sure, you're super moody, but you helped me find acceptance with myself."

Nico was a little taken aback by this. "Thanks," he finally said. "You mean a lot to me too. I've become a happier person since I started dating you." Will brought his lips back to his mouth and kissed him some more.

"I love you, Nico," Will said. It was the first time he had said those words aloud to Nico and they seemed to bring their relationship to a new level. It took some nerve to say, but he was couldn't conceal his feelings any longer. "I really do."

"I love you too," Nico replied honestly. He pulled Will in for one last kiss before heading back to his cabin.

That night Will fell asleep thinking about Nico. He had never been so happy.

Nico headed back to the honorary Hades cabin and found Hazel sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Oh, hi Nico," she said.

"Hi Hazel."

"Listen. I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier," she confessed. "I was rude and didn't know how to react."

"Oh that. Honestly, I got a better reaction than I was expecting," Nico said bitterly.

"I'll admit it. I'm not entirely used to the idea of two guys dating. I'm not against it, it's just not an idea I was exposed to growing up. You know how it was back then," Hazel said getting emotional and Nico nodded in agreement. "But Will seems really nice and I want you to be happy."

"Thanks," he said said, pulling his sister in for a hug. He didn't care that she only kinda supported him, he was just glad that he could be open about his feelings. Eventually they parted and climbed into their separate beds.

Nico couldn't wait to see Will again.

The next morning at the crack of dawn the Greeks piled back on the buses and began the long drive back home. Every single one of them wished their weekend in New Rome was longer.

Author's Note: Again, thanks for reading. Your reviews mean a lot to me and I use them to improve the quality of the story. I'll be updating soon, and there will probably be 2 more chapters.