All characters belong to Rick Riordan I own nothing blah blah blah blah blah.

Author's Note: Hello, hope you like the story so far, to anyone at all who is possibly reading this. I changed the title of the story, because it didn't seem right, so just watch out for that. Sorry for posting the last chapter so late, I got caught up in schoolwork. All done with that now! Also, to anyone who's read the books and is dying for Solangelo to appear, you won't have to wait too much longer (I hope)! So I will shut up now.

Chapter 9

Nico quietly stepped into his apartment. He didn't want to wake up Will, it was 12 am and he had probably crashed already. On the other hand, Nico always stayed up late, so he was used to it.

He walked into the kitchen to get some food when he saw a red and yellow box sitting on the table. Nico smiled. Will knew him too well.

Nico sat down and opened up his Happy Meal. He brought out the somehow-still-warm chicken nuggets, the milk, apple slices, and was surprised to find a small box of fries included. Nico chuckled softly. Will knew him better than Nico.

Nico quickly turned his head to make sure he wasn't coming down the stairs or anything. Then, he reached in the box and pulled out the toy included. This time, it was a figure of Hades, the Greek god of death and the Underworld. Personally, Nico liked him best, but he didn't know why. He turned to figurine over in his hands and started to play with it, a fry dangling from his mouth. It always made him feel safe and happy, like he was with Bianca. Will made him feel that way, but there was a difference between affection from a sibling and from a boyfriend.

Nico heard a creak, and he quickly stuffed the figurine back in the box and stuffed the fry in his mouth. He devoured all the food in two minutes, and by that time, Will was down the stairs. Nico placed the now empty Happy Meal box on the table where it was and brushed the crumbs off his face. He acted as if he'd just entered the kitchen, and noticed the Happy Meal.

Just then Will walked in. Yawning, he said, "Hey Neeks, you just get back from the hospital?"

Nico nodded. "Yup."

"Well that's great and all, but did you eat?" Will asked.

Nico groaned. He knew this was coming. "Yes, Will, I ate," Nico replied in an exasperated tone. "And, may I just say, thank you. It was delicious." He grinned at Will, letting him notice the crumbs on the table and the empty Happy Meal box.

. . .

Later that day, in the morning

Percy slowly lifted Annabeth off the hospital bed. She immediately started to fall, but Percy caught her. He hoisted her up into his arms, cradling her head with one hand, hold her legs up with the other. She wrapped her arms around his neck as Percy carried Annabeth to the waiting wheelchair.

After they took a while figuring out how to get it moving, Annabeth pulled Percy down and kissed him. Then she smiled at him. "Well don't just stand there, Seaweed Brain! Get going!" She said, laughing and gesturing at him to start pushing the wheelchair.

Percy was moving really slow, so Annabeth decided to make him stop and she pushed the wheels herself. She grinned back at him, to show that she was better at this than him. Then Percy's eyes widened in alarm and Annabeth turned around to find that she was about to crash into a vending machine. Percy ran over yelling "Annabeth!" and desperately trying to stop it from crashing.

Percy failed, and Annabeth's chair slammed into the vending machine filled with chips. They heard a crunch and Percy pushed her away from the machine, checking her over, but Annabeth just cracked up.

Percy frowned. "What's so funny, Wise Girl?"

Annabeth couldn't stop smiling. She pointed to the opening of the vending machine where the food came out while covering her mouth with her other hand.

Percy went over and looked into it. Sitting there was a bag of pretzels, a packet of Oreos, and a king size Kit Kat bar. Now it was Percy's turn to burst out laughing. He grabbed the food and put it in Annabeth's lap.

"Well, now we know how to get free food from a vending machine!" Annabeth joked.

They didn't stop laughing for a while.

. . .

Will yawned. Nico was sound asleep, muttering softly and drooling. Will smiled and closed his mouth. Then he quietly got out of the covers and crept into the bathroom. After he cleaned himself up and brushed his teeth, he finally checked the time. 8:00 am. He wondered why he'd gotten up so late. Usually he was up by 6:30, he loved the mornings.

Will made himself a nice breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, bananas, orange juice, yogurt, and other various fruit. Will prided himself on always being healthy in every way, as he was a doctor, a dentist, and practiced basically all kinds of healthcare jobs. He was actually Nico's doctor and dentist because Nico refused to have anyone else.

He heard footsteps and he tossed his plate and cup in the sink and waited for Nico to come down the stairs.

. . .

Nico found Will leaning against the wall, smirking with his arms crossed over his chest. His hair was a little messy, and Nico noted a small seed, most likely from a strawberry, in his teeth.

"So, how'd you like your 'dinner'?" Will asked, putting emphasis on the word dinner.

"It was great, actually. I already ate, but I had it anyway because you were so thoughtful. Also," Nico continued before Will could interrupt him, "You've got a little something in your teeth."

Will was startled, and he looked into a mirror hanging on the wall next to him. Nico took this chance to get his breakfast before Will noticed.

He crept into the kitchen, grabbing everything he needed from the pantry. Just as he was about to escape, Will appeared from nowhere. He gestured the food in Nico's hands. "What's all that?" He asked.

"Oh you know," Nico said casually, "Just grabbing a healthy breakfast."

"Neeks, those are gummy bears wrapped in a fruit roll-up."

"I know. Like I said, healthy."

"I wonder sometimes how you're so skinny. I pity your dentist."

"Too bad," Nico smirked. "You're my dentist." He left Will with a dumbfounded expression, eating his 'healthy breakfast'.

. . .

The first thing Percy did was take Annabeth to the beach. Annabeth didn't know, Percy realized.

He stood next to her, eventually sitting down as they watched the waves crash on the shore. He picked up a shell. It was exquisite, and had an image of a starfish on it. Percy smiled at the memory it brought along with it, and he placed the sand dollar back. He picked up another shell, and it had a little hole in it. Percy thought it was perfect, and he turned away so Annabeth couldn't see him. He slipped the shell onto a silver chain that he'd bought for Annabeth. Then he stuffed it back into his pocket.

Percy kept digging through the sand, and he found a small, beautiful stone. It was perfectly smooth, and it looked like marble. It was speckled with black and dark gray dots, which reminded him of Annabeth's eyes. He tucked it into his other pocket, thinking it could be used later.

Percy took a deep breath. He held Annabeth's hand and turned to her. She looked down at him, smiling. "What's up, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy smiled back. Here it was. The moment of truth. He stood up, and dusted himself off. Then he got down on a knee.