#Just imagine this in the car on the way to pick up Nico and Bianca

[freddie-77-ao3]

Annabeth: Accidents happen, you know. Thalia: [points at Percy] Exhibit A.

[buoyantsaturn]

I’m in Hell (5/?)

summary: Will meets Nico’s dad. Nico meets Will’s mom. Angst follows.

word count: 12,426 (73,086 total)

read on ao3 | read part four | read part three | read part two | read part one

Nico called Annabeth as he started packing up a suitcase for him and Will. The three of them would be leaving for California with Hazel and Frank the next morning to introduce Frank and Will to Nico’s father, and Nico had no idea how to orchestrate a meet the parents. Meeting Will’s dad hadn’t exactly gone well, and Nico knew that his own father wasn’t going to be a peach, but he could only hope that there wouldn’t be any punches thrown - it would likely be a close call.

Seeing as Annabeth had had to introduce her mother and Percy, Nico figured she would give the best advice on how to handle a potentially dangerous situation.

“You’re taking Will home to meet your dad?” Annabeth asked, obviously surprised. “I didn’t realize things had gotten so serious already.”

“Yeah, well, I had a pretty shitty run-in with his dad, so I figured I’d repay the favor,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes as he opened up the closet. “Anyway, do you have any advice? I know your mom hates Percy, so I’m sure that first meeting wasn’t great.”

“There was quite a bit of name-calling,” Annabeth admitted, “but I wasn’t about to let her take any kind of control over my life, you know? She wasn’t around when I was growing up, so she doesn’t get a say in what I do as an adult, and I told her that. I made it clear that I was just showing her a basic courtesy in introducing her to my boyfriend before we got married, and I told her that if she continued to treat Percy like shit, then she wouldn’t be invited to the wedding.”

Nico stared into the closet as he thought. Should he pack nice clothes in case he was expected to go to Mass? “So, is that what I should say to my dad?”

“You’re an adult, Nico. I can’t tell you what you should say any more than your dad can,” Annabeth said. “I know how terribly your dad treated you when you were a teenager, but you don’t have to sit back and take it anymore. You need to make it clear that you and Will are together, and don’t even give him the chance to give you shit about it.”

Nico turned away from the closet, deciding against packing any dress clothes. “Oh, and I guess I should let you know that Will and I are engaged.”

“Yeah, I figured. Congrats, by the way.”

“What do you mean, you figured? I was expecting you to be surprised!”

“You and Hazel swore you would never go back there unless you were both engaged. If I remember correctly, you even said something about needing protection from your dad.”

“I forgot that other people knew about that.”

“Hey, since you’re going to California, you should try to meet up with Reyna. I bet she’d love to see you, and maybe introducing Will to her will be good practice, and you’ll be less nervous to introduce him to your dad.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m more anxious about Reyna and Will meeting than anything else. My dad’s just gonna take one look at Will and say he disapproves, or something, but Reyna? She’ll grill him within an inch of his life!”

“She’ll just want to make sure Will’s treating you right,” Annabeth teased.

Nico rolled his eyes. “It’s not like LA and San Francisco are anywhere near each other, anyway. I think it’d be pretty hard for us to meet up.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

Nico sighed. “Fine. I’ll text her. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I gotta finish packing before Will gets home, but I’ll let you know how everything goes.”

“Looking forward to it. Bye, Nico. Love you.”

“Uh huh.”

Nico ended the call and went to Bianca’s room to make sure she was packing.

Frank and Hazel met them at the Solace household early the next morning so that they could carpool to the airport. They had a very early flight, which mean that they had to be to the airport before the sun had even risen, and both Bianca and Will were still practically asleep as they loaded into the backseat of Hazel’s car. Nico had barely slept the night before, too anxious about the plane ride and seeing his father, and had already been awake when Will’s alarm went off.

Nico crammed into the backseat with Will and Bianca, their suitcases piled into the trunk, and they drove off to the airport. It was Will and Bianca’s first time on a plane, so Bianca had gotten the window seat with Will in the middle so that Nico could be as far from the window as possible.

Will set his hand over Nico’s where he was gripping the armrest so tight that his knuckles had turned white. “Are you going to be alright, Darling?”

Nico pressed his head back against the seat. “I hate planes.”

“We didn’t have to do this,” Will told him.

The plane rocked gently as they hit a small patch of turbulence, and Nico squeezed his eyes shut. “I owe it to my teenage self.”

Will stroked his thumb across the back of Nico’s hand. “How so?”

Nico groaned, gritting his teeth. “I don’t know!” “Okay, sorry,” Will said with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to the side of Nico’s head. “Why don’t you try to sleep? It might make the flight easier on you.”

“I don’t think I could.”

“Just try.” Will patted his shoulder with his free hand. “I’ve got the perfect pillow for you right here.”

“Your bony shoulder?”

“It’s not that bony!” Will argued. “Just...sleep. We’ll be on the ground in no time.”

With a huff, Nico leaned against Will’s side and moved his death-grip from the arm rest to Will’s bicep. Will pressed a kiss to the top of Nico’s head, and after a few moments Nico’s hold on him relaxed as he started to fall asleep.

He managed to sleep until the plane started its descent, and held Will’s hand so tightly he started losing feeling in his fingers until the wheels stopped rolling on the runway and Nico finally let go.

From landing to exiting the plane to collecting their suitcases from baggage claim, nearly an hour had passed. Nico had been about to call his dad or maybe a cab, whichever he got an answer from first, but then Hazel pointed something out across the entryway.

“Does that sign say di Angelo?” she asked, pointing to a man in a suit who was holding up a sign.

“Your dad sent a car for us?” Will asked.

Nico scoffed. “He couldn’t even pick us up himself.” He grabbed the handle of his suitcase with one hand and Bianca’s hand with the other, and started leading the group toward the driver.

Thankfully, he’d sent the small limo - both because the bigger one was always embarrassing, and because there had always been the chance they wouldn’t all fit in a smaller car. “I always forget that you come from money,” Frank said as the driver opened the door for them.

“Is this the normal treatment?” Will asked.

“Just be happy he sent the smaller limo,” Hazel said as she climbed into the car, and Nico smiled. As much as he was dreading seeing his father, he was glad he had Hazel there with him. “I’m sure you can imagine how embarrassing it was for me to get picked up from summer camp in a stretch limo.”

“That must’ve been tough on you, honey,” Frank teased as he followed her inside.

As Will and Bianca took their seats, Nico brought their suitcases to the trunk for the driver to put away before he climbed inside the limo, shutting the door behind himself.

The car started to pull away from the curb, and Will asked, “So, is there any last-minute information on your dad you forgot to share that we should know?”

Nico slumped against Will’s side. “If you see him drinking, don’t go near him. Actually, if he starts drinking then we’re leaving. We’ll get a hotel, or something.”

Will wrapped an arm around Nico and pressed a comforting kiss to the side of his head. “Anything else?”

“How should we address him?” Frank asked. “Mr. di Angelo? Or...his first name? What is his first name?”

“Don’t even bother addressing him,” Nico said at the same time that Hazel replied, “I think sir would probably be best.”

“What about your stepmom?” Frank asked.

“Oh, she’s great!” Hazel said with a smile. “She’ll be there now, but Dad probably has to work today, so hopefully he won’t be home until later.”

It was lunchtime when they arrived at Nico’s giant childhood home. As the driver removed their suitcases from the trunk, Nico pulled Will aside and hugged him.

“Thank you for doing this,” he said softly. “Thank you for coming here with me. But… Before we go in there, before anything happens, I want to tell you that I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, or how I’m gonna act, but if I say anything, or do anything-- If I snap at you--” Nico groaned and buried his face in Will’s chest. “Don’t hate me for it. Whatever happens, please don’t hate me afterwards.”

Will kissed the top of his head. “I could never hate you, Darling.”

Nico took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Let’s go.”

They grabbed their suitcases, and with Frank, Hazel, and Bianca, they made their way into the house. Nico didn’t bother knocking before he stepped inside and called out, “Hello? Seph?”

He expected to hear the clicking of high-heeled shoes coming toward them, but instead heard soft-soled shoes until his father was standing in front of them.

Will watched as Nico wiped all emotion from his face as he met eyes with his father.

“No hello for your own father?” he asked.

“Hi, Dad,” Hazel replied, as Nico said, “Hello, Hades.”

Hades’s eyes narrowed at his son. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to these others?”

Hazel stepped forward, pulling Frank with her by the hand, and said, “Dad, this is Frank, my fiance.”

Frank held out his free hand. “Hello, sir, it’s nice to meet you,” he said as he shook Hades’s hand.

Hades turned to Nico expectantly.

Nico gestured to Will and said, “This is Will.” Then he set a hand on Bianca’s shoulder and brought her out from behind her father. “And this is his daughter, Bianca.”

Hades’s eyes widened, obviously startled as he stared down at the little girl, but quickly school his features. He cleared his throat before he spoke. “Persephone is setting the table for lunch. Please show Will to the guest room--”

“We’re engaged.”

Hades appeared to deflate, and the look on his face could only be described as disappointment. “I’ll see you for lunch.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Will reached forward and squeezed Nico’s hand. “That could’ve been worse, right?”

“I doubt it,” Nico replied, and tugged at Will’s hand. “C’mon, let’s take our stuff upstairs.”

The five of them went up the stairs, dragging their suitcases along behind them, and parted ways to separate bedrooms. Nico and Will left their suitcase in Nico’s childhood bedroom before dropping Bianca’s off in the nearest guest room.

Hazel and Frank were already at the table with Hades and Persephone once they’d made it back downstairs and into the dining room. Persephone stood from her seat with a smile when she saw them enter.

“You must be Will!” she said, and shook his hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you.” She looked down to find Bianca, and crouched down to shake her hand as well. “And Bianca, it’s so nice to meet you, too!” When she straightened again, she said, “Please, take your seats! It’s been so long since I’ve heard from you, I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to!”

As Nico, Will, and Bianca sat down at the table, Hazel said, “We wanted to come down to let you both know that Frank and I are engaged.”

“And so are we,” Will tagged on.

Persephone gasped, glancing between the two couples. “That’s fantastic! How did it happen? Who asked who? Oh, I just love proposal stories! And Hazel, you must have a ring, right? Let me see!”

“Oh, no ring,” Hazel said. “And it’s not much of a story, either.”

“I just graduated from West Point,” Frank told her. “I moved into Hazel’s apartment after school ended, and we started talking about marriage and agreed that we’re on the same page. So, we’re engaged, just without the ring or the proposal.”

“Very modern of you,” Persephone said, and turned to Nico and Will across the table. “And what about you? Nico, I didn’t even know you were seeing anybody! You should’ve told us when we called on your birthday.”

Nico tried his best not to sink down in his chair as he muttered, “We weren’t together yet.”

Will cleared his throat. “We had had a few conversations about getting married someday, and we were on the same page, or at least I’d thought we were, but then I got down on my knees at breakfast one morning and asked, and Nico said no--”

Nico felt himself starting to smile. “I didn’t say no, I--”

Hades cleared his throat from where he sat at the end of the table, and stood up. “Excuse me.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, and Nico felt the smile drop from his face.

Will grabbed Nico’s hand, and tried to carry on. “I asked, and he said no, but I think that’s just because he wanted to be the one to ask.”

Nico tried to listen, tried to contribute to the conversation for the rest of the meal, but his anger was keeping him from focusing on anything for too long. By the time they’d all finished eating, Hades still hadn’t returned to the table, and Nico was certain that it was because of him - because of Will.

Nico offered to take their empty dishes into the kitchen, and dropped them in the sink before he started toward his father’s office. He could see Hades sitting at his desk through the glass doors.

Nico knocked, not waiting for a response before he walked inside. He stood in the doorway for a moment in silence, though Hades never acknowledged him. “You missed lunch. And hearing about my engagement.”

“Seems I have,” Hades replied, not looking up from the papers on his desk.

Nico crossed his arms. “Do you even have an excuse?”

“I had to take a phone call.”

“Your phone wasn’t ringing.”

“It was on silent.”

“Just admit that you hate the idea of your son marrying another man!” Nico shouted, and tensed at the volume of his own voice. He gripped his t-shirt in his fist to avoid digging his nails into his own arm, and ducked his head when Hades finally turned to look at him.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Hades said, fighting to keep the volume of his voice under control, “I’m just a little surprised!”

“What’s so surprising? You never thought your emotionally stunted son would ever find someone?”

“I’m surprised because you nearly stopped speaking to me after your sister died. Your birthday was the first time you’d spoken to me since you moved as far away as you possibly could without leaving the country, and for an hour-long phone call, you still barely said a word! Now you just show up at my doorstep with a fiance and a daughter who looks exactly like your dead sister, and you never even told me you were gay!”

Nico’s jaw dropped. “My whole life, I only ever talked about Percy Jackson! How did you not realize I was gay?”

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a sigh. “I just want to be included in your life, Nico. I’m your father, and I love you, and I miss you, and I want to see you more than once every three years.”

“Then why don’t you act like it?” Nico spat. “You refused to even acknowledge me for months after Bianca died! Oh, except for when you were drunk, and then you were taking swings at me! You don’t hit the people you love!”

“Which is why I got sober!” Hades shouted, and Nico startled back a few steps, flinching like he was afraid of being hit even from across the room. Hades had lowered his voice when he continued by saying, “I haven’t had a drink in over a year. I called you on your birthday to make amends, but I couldn’t get the words out, so I kept stalling until you hung up on me--”

“I didn’t. There was a snowstorm.”

“--but I wanted to apologize.”

“Then do it. Right now. Apologize.”

Hades opened his mouth and shut it again without saying a word. He took a breath a tried again, but still no sound came out.

“That’s what I thought.”

Nico turned and left Hades’s office, leaving the door open behind him. He wandered the main floor until he found the others relaxing in the living room. Persephone was in an armchair and Frank and Hazel were sharing the loveseat. Bianca appeared to be playing a game on Will’s phone as she sat on one end of the couch, and Will sat on the other end with one arm draped over the back of the couch, almost like an invitation.

Nico sat down beside him, feeling as though he was shaking like a leaf, and hadn’t even noticed that he was scratching at his own arm until Will pulled his hand away. He pressed a kiss to Nico’s knuckles before intertwining their fingers. “Are you alright, Darling?” he whispered, and Nico shook his head. He curled up against Will’s side and tried to listen to the conversation around him.

Nico had successfully managed to avoid seeing his father for the rest of the day - aside from one very tense family dinner - and was getting ready for bed when Hazel dragged him back downstairs and into the living room. Hades was pacing in front of the couch, and looked up when the two entered the room. Nico tried to turn around and leave, but Hazel kept a strong grip on his wrist and forced him to sit next to her on the couch.

“Thank you, Hazel, for bringing him,” Hades said, and Nico rolled his eyes and he slumped back against the couch with crossed arms.

“I would’ve fought harder if I’d known what this was about.”

Hazel squeezed his hand in warning, so Nico shut his mouth.

Hades sat down awkwardly on the coffee table in front of them, and folded his hands on his lap. He took a breath and said, “When the two of you left, it broke my heart. I realized how poorly I’d treated the both of you over the years, and knew that I needed to change in order to get back on your good side - if I ever was in the first place. It was a long and difficult road, but I’ve officially been sober for a little over a year now. It’s important to my sobriety that I make amends to the people I’ve hurt in the past, and for the good of our family, I would like to apologize to you both. I acted out after Bianca’s death, and I treated you both so terribly. Nico, I am so sorry that I blamed you for her death, and for every time I hit you--”

“You hit him?” Hazel hissed, but this time Nico squeezed her hand to hold her back. Now that Hades was finally talking, Nico wanted to hear what he had to say.

Hades continued, “And I want to apologize for my behavior today. You fiances didn’t deserve that treatment, and your daughter deserves to have a grandfather… If you’ll have me.”

“That’s not up to me. It’s up to Will.”

“Of course,” Hades said with a nod, and turned to Hazel. “And Frank deserves an apology as well, but you are my children, and I should have said these things to you years ago. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, but I do ask that you accept my amends.”

“Thank you, Dad,” Hazel said, and stood up. She waited until Hades stood as well, and wrapped her arms around him.

Nico stood as well, though he wasn’t about to hug Hades, and tried to sneak off as Hazel left, but Hades stopped him with a, “Nico, wait, please.” He stepped around the coffee table and went to one of the bookshelves built into the wall. He returned with what looked like a photo album, and claimed Hazel’s seat on the couch. Hades stared up at Nico expectantly until he sat back down.

Hades flipped open the cover of the photo album, and the first picture inside was of Bianca and Maria. “This book has every picture of your mother that I have, and just about every picture of Bianca. I thought you would like to have it.” He held out the album until Nico took it from him, and slowly started to flip through the pages.

“Really?” Nico asked, and Hades nodded. “Thanks...Dad.”

Hades set a hand on Nico’s shoulder and smiled. “Goodnight, son.”

He stood and left the room, leaving Nico alone with the photo album. He got lost in his memories as he flipped through the pages, completely forgetting about his plan to sleep until he heard footsteps entering the room.

“You alright, babe?” Will asked as he made his way over to the couch. He leaned against the back, peering over Nico’s shoulder at the book in his lap. “What’s that?”

“A photo album,” Nico answered. “My dad just gave it to me. Come here.” He patted the space next to him, inviting Will to sit, and leaned into his side once he had. Nico set the album between them as he continued to slowly flip through the pages, pointing out pictures and describing the memory behind them.

“This is my mother,” Nico said, pointing to a picture of Maria. She must’ve gotten dressed up for something, because in the photo she was wearing a black cocktail dress with a full face of makeup.

“She’s beautiful,” Will commented. “You look just like her.”

Nico blushed. Had Will just called him beautiful? He flipped the page again, and heard Will gasp beside him. He picked up the album and brought it closer to his face as if it would give him a better look on a perfectly clear picture.

“That looks like…”

“Bianca,” Nico finished for him.

“Yeah, but--”

“That’s my sister,” Nico said, “Bianca.”

Will stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth dropping open like he wanted to speak, but no words were coming out. When Nico started to laugh, Will finally said, “They look exactly the same.”

“Not exactly,” Nico replied. “Bi has more freckles, and her hair is a little bit lighter.”

“How come you never told me? I mean, you had to notice, right?”

“Yeah, of course. The first second I saw her, I noticed, and it freaked me out. Same with my dad.”

“Nico,” Will said, dropping his gaze back to the photo, “how can two unrelated people look so similar?”

“I don’t know, but I think you’re worrying about this a little too much,” Nico said with a smile. “I think you need to get some sleep, because I know I do.”

Will sighed. “You’re right, let’s go to bed.” He stood up and set the album on the coffee table before he took Nico’s hand and pulled him up off the couch.

When Will finally managed to drag Nico out of bed and downstairs for breakfast, Nico saw Hades pulling Frank into the next room, and he realized that Will would probably be next in line for an amends. Nico led Will straight past the dining room and into the kitchen in the hope that he could hide Will for a little while longer in order to prepare him for what was about to come.

When they got to the kitchen, they found Hazel at the stove and Bianca sitting on the island.

“What’s going on?” Nico asked as Will said good morning to his daughter.

“Hazel’s making eggs for me,” Bianca answered.

“We’re not really sure what Seph made for breakfast,” Hazel elaborated, “so I didn’t want to risk letting Bianca eat it.”

“Thank you,” Will replied.

Nico stepped up to the stove and spoke quietly in the hope that only Hazel would hear him when he said, “So, Dad’s talking to Frank.”

Hazel bit her lip before saying, “I know. I think it’ll be fine, but I’m a little nervous.”

“Will’s probably next, right?”

“I would think so.”

“Next for what?” Will asked, and Nico winced. “Should I be concerned?”

“Probably not,” Hazel replied.

Nico cleared his throat. “Um. Dad got sober, and he’s going around making amends. He’s probably coming to you next.”

“Oh. Oh! Well, that’s great, right? And that means he talked to both of you already, so you’ve accepted his amends and you can move past it now.” Nico and Hazel shared a look. “You did accept his amends, right? It’s important to his sobriety that you do that. It’s really difficult for someone to put themselves out there during an amends, and you don’t have to forgive them but you have to accept the amends.”

Nico dropped his gaze and crossed his arms. “Yeah, uh. I guess I probably should do that.”

Bianca pulled on Will’s sleeve to get his attention. “Daddy, what’s an amends?”

“It’s sort of like a fancy apology,” Will answered.

“What makes it fancy?”

Will took a breath. “You have to...take special classes to learn how to do it.”

“Oh. Sounds boring.”

“But it’s important to apologize to people because it will help you to remember not to do the same thing over again.”

Nico huffed. “Alright, I’ll go accept his amends.”

As he left the kitchen, Hazel turned off the stove and announced, “Eggs are ready!”

Will raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you accept his amends?”

“I said thank you, isn’t that good enough?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

Hazel groaned. “God, you’re such a dad.” She followed after Nico to find Hades, and passed Frank in the hallway. He smiled and offered a thumbs-up, so Hazel figured it couldn’t have been too bad.

She had to follow the sound of Nico’s voice in order to find them.

“I don’t forgive you,” she heard him say as she rounded the corner, finally spotting them just outside of Hades’s office, “and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you, but I...accept your amends.”

Hades smiled, though it came off rather sad. “Thank you, Nico.”

“You probably want to talk to Will now, right?” Nico asked, and Hades nodded. “I’ll go get him.”

He turned to head back to the kitchen, nodding at Hazel as he passed. He heard Hazel accept Hades’s amends just before he was out of earshot, and soon found Will just where he’d left him. “It’s your turn,” he said. “He’s waiting for you by his office.”

“And where’s that?” Will asked.

“By the door to the garden.”

Will sighed. “Babe, I couldn’t find the front door right now if I tried. I didn’t know there was a garden.”

“Down the hall, turn right, it’s the glass doors on your left.”

“Thank you.” He pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead before he left the room.

Will followed Nico’s directions until he found himself, for the first time, alone with Hades. “Hello, sir,” he greeted. “You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, I--” he cleared his throat, visibly uncomfortable. “I’m sure Nico has shared with you how horribly I used to treat him, and I hope he has told you that I tried to reconnect with him last night after making an amends. I’m about a year sober, you see--”

“I know, Nico told me,” Will said, hoping to ease Hades’s discomfort.

“I want to apologize to you for my behavior yesterday. I had no right to treat you as coldly as I did, and I hope you can forgive me for that.”

“Thank you, sir. I accept your apology,” Will replied.

“I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement, as well. It’s clear to me that you make my son very happy, and after everything he’s been through - after everything I’ve put him through - he deserves all the happiness in the world. Thank you for taking care of him when I could not.”

At the end of the weekend, the five of them were more than ready to leave. Nico had made sure to pack up the night before so that they could leave quickly after waking up, though Will seemed to have a different plan.

As Nico tried to stand up to get dressed, Will pulled him back down into the bed. “Will, we have a plane to catch.”

“Actually, there’s been a slight change of plans,” Will told him, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him from going anywhere. “We’re not leaving with Frank and Hazel.”

“Will, I am not staying here any longer than I absolutely have to, and that timer runs out in about half an hour.”

“We’re still leaving before lunch, we’re just taking a different flight back home. Our flight has a layover. In Nashville. For two days.”

“Two days?”

“I want you to meet my mom.”

Nico relaxed and tensed up again in under a second. “Your mom? Really?”

“Yeah, really. I just spent the whole weekend with your dad and stepmom. I’m in your childhood bedroom right now, of course I want you to meet my mom,” Will said with a chuckle. He pressed himself closer and knocked his forehead gently against Nico’s. “We’re gonna get married someday, and if my mom gets an invitation without ever meeting you, she’s gonna be pissed. I’d never hear the end of it.”

“Nobody’s ever brought me home to meet their mom before,” Nico said softly. “Do you think she’ll like me?”

“She’s going to love you,” Will assured him, and leaned in for a kiss. “Almost as much as I do, but nobody could love you like I do.”

Nico frowned. “Careful, that almost sounded like an insult.”

“What? How?”

“You made it sound like I’m unlovable.”

“No I didn’t! I said that I love you so much that nobody could ever compete with me!”

“You said that nobody could ever love me--”

“That’s not what I said, and you know it!” Nico snorted, and Will gasped. “You’re doing this on purpose! Do you think it’s fun to get me all riled up?”

“Maybe. You’re cute when you’re trying to prove your love for me.”

“Oh, I’ll show you cute,” Will said, and rolled himself on top of his fiance as he started to pepper his face with kisses.

Nico was just as fidgety and anxious as the last time he’d gotten on a plane, and had just about broken every bone in Will’s hand when they hit a rough patch of turbulence.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this a third time,” Nico complained as he squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his head back against the seat. “I hate planes.”

“If I’d known about your fear of flying, then I wouldn’t have planned for this,” Will told him. “But it’s too late now.”

“I hate you,” Nico groaned.

“No you don’t.”

“Well, I don’t like you very much.”

“You love me.”

“Just because I love you doesn’t mean I have to like you.”

Due to the time change and their later flight, the plane landed around ten at night, and after getting off the plane, picking up their bags from baggage claim, and finding a cab, they didn’t even leave the airport until eleven.

Bianca fell asleep in the cab, so when they finally arrived at Naomi Solace’s house, Nico had to carry her to the door while Will collected their suitcases. Will let them in without knocking by using the spare key his mother kept under a rock near the door, hoping that he wouldn’t accidentally wake Naomi as they settled in for the night.

They’d barely made it into the house before a light turned on in the hallway. A woman came around the corner into the entryway, pulling a bathrobe on over her pajamas, and squinting to see in the dark. “Will, honey, is that you?”

“Hi, Mama,” Will whispered, stepping forward and pulling Naomi into a hug.

“You scared me half to death! What are you doing here?” She pushed herself away and stepped around Will as she said, “Where’s my favorite little girl?”

When Nico met Naomi’s gaze, he wanted to shrink down and hide.

“Will,” Naomi said to her son, though she kept her gaze locked on Nico as she spoke, “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Will was at Nico’s side in a second, placing an arm around his waist carefully so as to not disturb Bianca who was still asleep in Nico’s arms. “Mama, this is Nico.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Solace,” Nico said.

“Oh, honey, please, call me Naomi.” She glanced between them for a moment, her face twisted up in confusion. Finally, she said, “Well, as much as I would love to stay up and chat, I think we all ought to head off to bed. Will, I’m sure you can get yourselves settled in.”

“Of course. We’ll see you in the morning.” Will hugged Naomi once more before she ventured back into the house.

Will kicked off his shoes before taking Bianca from Nico so that he could do the same, and led Nico further into the house. He put Bianca to bed in her old room - it looked just like it had when they’d left - before taking Nico across the hall to Will’s room.

“I think that went well,” Will told him as he shut the door behind them.

“Really?” Nico asked. “She looked surprised, and not really in a good way.”

Will walked toward him and wrapped his arms around Nico. “So, I probably should’ve told her we were coming, but I wanted to surprise her. I don’t think it went poorly, do you?”

“It could’ve been better! Did your mom know that you’re bi?”

Will frowned. “Of course she did. Why would you think she didn’t?”

“She didn’t look happy, and--” Nico took a breath. “Okay, so, apparently, I never told my dad I was gay. I thought I did!” he said quickly before Will could interrupt. “But I guess I didn’t. I don’t know how he didn’t catch on even without me telling him, but--”

“You brought me home to meet your dad who thought you were straight,” Will said, and in a second he started to laugh. “What a way to come out, huh?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Alright, well, it’s not that funny.”

“It kind of is.” Will dropped his head to rest against Nico’s. “I promise you, my mom knows I’m bi. I told her when I was in high school, and she… She was quiet, but she wasn’t upset.”

“So she most likely won’t throw me out of the house when she finds out we’re engaged?”

Will shrugged. “Probably not.”

“You’re not making me feel any better about this.”

Will had woken up early and had found his mom in the kitchen making breakfast. He’d tried to help, but just like Nico, Naomi refused to let Will anywhere near the stove. Bianca woke up just in time for breakfast, and when they sat down to eat, Naomi started asking about Nico - mainly about where he was.

After breakfast, Naomi decided to go on a grocery run, and Bianca volunteered to go with her. As soon as they left, Will returned to his old bedroom to check on Nico, only to see that he was already awake and scrolling through his phone.

Will walked up to him and knelt beside the bed, resting his chin on the mattress and waiting for Nico to set his phone aside. “Good morning,” he said when Nico finally met his gaze. “You missed breakfast. Are you alright?”

“What if your mom doesn’t like me?” Nico whispered.

“She won’t like you at all if you never get out of bed,” Will replied. “She’s gonna think you’re lazy, and then you’ll never get on her good side.”

“You’re terrible at this, did you know that?”

“C’mon, get up. Mom took Bi to the store, so we have the place to ourselves for a little while. Come get breakfast, and when they get back, I’ll help you convince my mom of how amazing you are.”

“Fine,” Nico said with a huff.

They went out to the kitchen where Nico reheated the leftover french toast that Naomi had made, and after he ate, the two of them went to the living room to watch some TV while they waited for Naomi and Bianca to return. After spending the weekend in Nico’s giant childhood home, he found comfort in the smaller size of Naomi’s house - it felt like the perfect environment to raise family, unlike the immaculate mansion in which he’d been raised. It was cozier here, and even with his spiked anxiety, Nico felt more comfortable in Naomi’s living room than he’d felt the entire weekend at his father’s house.

After a while, Nico heard the front door creak open, and Naomi called out, “Will, honey, is Nico awake yet?”

“Yeah, Mama, he’s right here,” Will answered, and Nico tensed. Will pulled him close on the couch and wound an arm around him, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

“Oh, good, can you come help me with the dishes, dear?”

“Be right there.” Will was already standing when Naomi came around the corner.

“Oh, sorry, Will, I meant Nico,” she said with a smile in Nico’s direction. “If you’re that eager to help, Will, then you and Bianca can unpack all the groceries we just picked up.”

The kitchen was a little cramped with all four of them in there, but Nico was a lot more comfortable knowing that he wasn’t alone.

As Naomi started to fill the sink with water, she asked, “Now, honey, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

Nico hesitated. “What do you want to know?” Will was trying to give him an encouraging smile over his mother’s shoulder, but it wasn’t making Nico feel any better.

“Anything you want to tell me,” she said. “Where are you from? How old are you? Where did you go to college? Ooh, and how did the two of you meet?”

As Naomi began washing the dishes from breakfast, Nico grabbed a towel to dry up after her. “Alright, well, uh. I was born in Venice, Italy, but I grew up in Los Angeles, then I moved to New York when I was twenty. I took all of my college classes online, so that all the moving around wouldn’t interfere with them, and I’m still waiting on my final grades from this last semester to see if I graduated. And, uh, I’m twenty-three, but we met when I was twenty-two.”

“Twenty-three?” Naomi repeated, eyeing her son. “I didn’t take you as a cradle-robber, William.”

“Mama, please,” Will whined, but perked up as soon as he saw Nico smiling.

“Now, tell me how the two of you met,” Naomi demanded, turning her gaze back to Nico.

Nico paused, biting his lip before he answered. “I was a creative writing major, and I was kind of in a rut with my writing. One of my friends suggested I go on one of those babysitter websites to see if taking care of someone’s kid would give me inspiration.”

“And he was the best babysitter I ever hired,” Will said dreamily as he put a few boxes away on a high shelf.

“You were Bianca’s babysitter?” Naomi asked in a tone that was making Nico nervous, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

“At first, yes,” Nico stuttered.

Will crossed the kitchen to press a kiss to Nico’s cheek before he said, “He won me over with his cooking and great sense of humor.”

“Of course, always about the food with you,” Naomi said, and while Will shot her a hurt look, Nico was starting to like her. “What was it that did him in? Brownies? He can’t say no to brownies.”

“Trust me, I know,” Nico said. “I made him a chocolate lava cake for his birthday.”

Naomi gasped. “I don’t know how he didn’t marry you on the spot.”

“I’m hurt, Mama,” Will said as Nico started to laugh. “I can’t believe this, the two people I love most - besides you, Bi, of course I love you the most - treating me in such a way. I won’t stand for it. C’mon, Bi.” Will took Bianca out of the kitchen, leaving Nico alone with Naomi.

Nico took a breath. He supposed now was as good a time as ever. He checked over his shoulder to make sure that Will had actually left before he cleared his throat and said, “Ms. Solace?”

“Naomi, honey, call me Naomi.”

“Of course, Naomi,” Nico tried again. “This is… This might sound a bit strange and old fashioned, but I was hoping for your permission-- Your blessing to marry your son.”

Naomi shut off the water and set down the sponge she’d been using to scrub dishes. She turned to Nico with a sigh and a, “Honey,” and Nico prepared himself to be let down easy. “You don’t need my permission. And you had my blessing the second you walked into my house and I saw you treating my granddaughter like she was your own. The only permission you need is Will’s, but it seems like you’re already the person he loves most in the world, so I don’t think you’ll have any problems.”

“Thank you, Naomi,” Nico said.

“You’ve got nothing to thank me for,” she told him. “I should be thanking you for taking such good care of them. When Will got that job in New York, I didn’t know how he was going to survive on his own. If it weren’t for you, he would have run himself into the ground for sure.”

“That’s absolutely right,” Nico said.

“Of course it’s right!” Naomi laughed, but calmed herself down quickly, and when she spoke again she used a much quieter voice. “Now, I couldn’t help but notice the rings the two of you have been wearing. Does that mean…?”

Nico couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, we’re engaged. Not even for a month yet, but I’m really glad that Will brought me here. It was very important for me to get your blessing.”

“You are the sweetest thing,” Naomi told him. “I can’t believe Will was able to find someone so perfect for him, yet here you are.”

“Mama, I thought you were done embarrassing my when I graduated med school,” Will’s voice came from across the room. Nico whipped around to see him leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and a soft smile across his lips - he looked like he’d been standing there long enough to get comfortable.

“A mother is never done embarrassing her baby,” Naomi said. She bumped Nico with her shoulder and nodded her head towards Will. “Go on, I can finish these on my own.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind--”

“It’s fine, honey.” Naomi plucked the towel out of Nico’s hands and shooed him away.

Will lead Nico into the living room where Bianca was watching TV, and they sat together on the couch. “I can’t believe you asked my mom for her blessing,” Will said quietly as he draped an arm around Nico’s shoulders.

Nico pushed himself about a foot away from him. “What? How much of that did you hear?”

Will hummed. “Just about all of it. About how you’re so old fashioned and need my mother’s blessing to marry me. About how you kept me from running myself into the ground - which I wouldn’t have done, by the way, I would’ve been fine.”

“You would’ve killed yourself and Bianca, but go on.”

“About how you’re perfect.”

“I’m pretty sure that was ‘perfect for you,’ not perfect perfect,” Nico corrected.

“I’m pretty sure you’re perfect.”

Ever since they’d gotten home, Nico had seemed worn down. He didn’t appear to be sleeping much, and he was yawning constantly. He dragged his feet when he walked and he’d consistently been nodding off on the couch, and Will didn’t know he should be concerned or if Nico was just jetlagged.

When Will tried to ask about it, Nico shrugged him off. “I haven’t gotten my exam grades yet,” Nico told him. “I guess I’m just a little worked up over it. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” Will replied, and kissed Nico’s cheek before heading off to work.

He tried to keep his mind off of it while he was working - Nico said he was fine, and Will needed to trust that he knew how to take care of himself. He checked on patients, assisted in surgeries, had lunch with Lou Ellen when she came to the hospital for physical therapy. It was a long day, relaxing compared to most but long nonetheless, and he wanted nothing more than to return home to his fiance and his daughter.

He texted Nico when he left the hospital, and while he usually got a response almost immediately, he wasn’t concerned when the response never came. It probably just meant that Nico was cooking, and just the thought of dinner made Will’s stomach growl. However, when he walked through the door, he didn’t see Nico in the kitchen, and he didn’t smell anything cooking. He saw Bianca sitting at the table with a box of crayons and a stack of coloring books, and she shushed him when he dropped his keys on the counter.

“Nico’s sleeping,” she stage whispered.

Will frowned. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s just sleeping. Do you wanna color with me?”

Will hesitated - should he check on Nico, or leave him to rest since he so clearly needed it? - but ended up sitting next to Bianca at the table and claimed a page in one of her coloring books. His stomach growled once more as he started to color, so he said, “Do you want pizza tonight?”

Nico was woken up by a gentle hand on his arm and a soft voice calling his name. He ground the heels of his palms into his eyes as he sat up, unaware that he’d even fallen asleep, and he definitely wasn’t feeling any more rested than he had earlier.

Will was kneeling on the ground in front of the couch, concern written all over his features. “Are you okay?” he asked, pressing the back of his hand to Nico’s forehead, and Nico was confused.

“Of course I am, why?” Nico responded, tugging Will’s hand away.

“You’ve been asleep since before I got home,” Will told him. “Have you not been sleeping well?”

Nico shrugged, and then, as he’d just remembered something important, jumped to his feet. “I never made dinner.”

“We ordered pizza.”

Nico’s shoulders drooped. “Oh. Okay,” he muttered, hand creeping up to grip at his other wrist. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, I--”

Will snatched Nico’s hand away from his wrist before he could dig his nails into his skin. “You don’t have to apologize, I’m just worried about you.”

“You’ve got enough to worry about, so I should’ve been awake to make dinner,” Nico told him, tugging at Will’s hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Nico--”

The doorbell rang, and Nico squeezed Will’s hands. “I’ll get it,” Nico said, reaching up to peck at Will’s lips before moving away from his fiance.

Will had a surgery to study for the next morning, so after Bianca had gone to bed he’d brought out his laptop and patient notes and reviewed the surgical plan until he could recite it in his sleep. He’d glanced over at Nico once or twice during his studying to catch him staring blankly at whatever show was on TV, and saw that he soon started nodding off.

“Babe,” Will said after Nico’s eyes had been closed for a solid minute. “Don’t you think you’d be more comfortable if you went to bed?”

Nico shook his head a rubbed at his eyes, adjusting himself until he was sitting up straighter on the couch. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Will asked. “Do you want to talk about...something?”

“You’re working. I don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re my fiance. You’re allowed to bother me.”

Nico hunched his shoulders up. “I’m fine.”

“Alright, but when I go to bed in a little while, you’re coming with me.”

Nico grumbled something in reply, and Will went back to work. In another twenty minutes or so, he felt confident enough in his memory and comfortable enough that a quick review before the surgery would be all he needed, and he put his work away. When he turned to his side, he saw Nico fast sleep against the arm of the couch.

Will reached over and brushed a bit of hair behind Nico’s ear. It was getting long enough that Will had started to notice a wavy texture to it - he was going to miss those little waves if Nico ever got a haircut.

“Nico,” he said softly. “It’s time for bed, Darling.”

Nico grunted, but didn’t move.

“C’mon, babe, you know you hate sleeping on this couch,” Will tried again. “I’d carry you if I could.”

Nico made another noise of complaint, though this time he sat up and leaned against Will’s side.

“Oh, no. You’re not falling asleep on me now. Stand up, let’s go.” Will stood up and pulled Nico with him before he draped an arm around Nico’s waist to lead him to their bedroom. Nico was asleep once again as soon as his head hit the pillow.

A short while after Will had fallen asleep, Nico sat upright with a gasp, his hands fisted in the sheets and a ringing in his ears. He didn’t remember most of the dream - just like every other nightmare he’d had since returning home - but he knew that the last thing he saw before he opened his eyes was his father swinging an empty bottle of whiskey straight at his head.

He took a few deep breaths as he scrubbed his hands over his face before carefully rising out of bed. He left the room, shutting the door softly behind him, and headed toward the kitchen for a glass of water. As he went to set the glass in the sink, he saw all the unwashed dishes from dinner and felt a surge of guilt rush through him. He couldn’t cook or clean? How could he expect Will to keep him around?

Nico splashed cold water on his face. Thinking that way would only lead to a shame spiral, and he was only thinking that way because he was tired. He should just...wash all of the dishes, and then he could go to bed. It would be the perfect way to get his mind off of his nightmares, and maybe he would be too tired to have any more dreams.

He was midway through scrubbing one of the plates when the faucet shut off and an arm wrapped around his waist. “Babe. What are you doing.”

“I didn’t do the dishes after dinner,” Nico replied.

“So you thought you would do them at--” Will glanced at the clock on the microwave, “--two-fifteen in the morning?”

“I wasn’t tired,” Nico lied.

“Babe.” Will sighed and dropped his head onto Nico’s shoulder. “I don’t have the time to argue with you. I have a surgery in the morning, and I need to sleep, and I’m not going back to bed without you.”

“I told you, I’m not tired.”

“Come back anyway. It’s better for you to rest even if you’re not going to sleep, they proved it on MythBusters.”

Nico snorted. “Alright, fine.” He set the plate back in the sink and allowed Will to lead him back to bed. He was asleep again in seconds.

“No, no! Please, no!”

Will’s eyes shot open at the sound of Nico’s shouting. He felt his arm being jostled as Nico reached out for him, and soon Nico’s shouts were replaced with sobs. Will couldn’t see him well in the dark, but he felt as Nico clutched at his shirt and tried to hide his face in Will’s chest.

“Nico?” Will questioned, running his fingers through dark, tangled hair.

“I’m sorry,” Nico hiccuped against Will’s chest. “I didn’t want to wake you, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Will told him, wrapping his arms around Nico’s shaking form. “What’s wrong, what happened?”

“Bia, it-- She was in the woods, and then in the road, and there were headlights and it wasn’t Bia anymore, it was Bi-- Bianca, I watched that car hit her and--” He choked on his words, clawing at Will’s shoulders and trying to get a grip on something.

“Darling,” Will whispered, holding his fiance closer.

Nico took a breath and continued. “And then I-I was at my dad’s, and someone knocked on the door so I answered it. It was that asshole drunk, b-but Bia wasn’t there. I-it was you, W-Will, and you were d-dead. There was s-so m-m-much blood and I could see your eyes, Will--” He heaved a breath, and Will pushed him up until they were both sitting. He switched on the bedside lamp and reached up to frame Nico’s face with his hands.

“Darling, look at me,” Will told him. “Look at my eyes, sweetheart, I’m fine. I’m alive, you’re alive, Bi’s alive. You’re just overtired and stressed, but there’s nothing to worry about, I promise.” He pulled Nico against his chest once again and stroked his hand up and down Nico’s back. “Just try to relax, Darling, everything’s alright.”

“I’m so sorry,” Nico whispered. “I… I didn’t want to worry you, and I know you have surgery, but I--” Nico hiccuped again and wiped at the tears still streaming from his eyes. “I’m so scared that you’ll leave me. Please don’t leave me. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you, Will, please don’t leave me.”

Will tightened his hold on Nico, running his fingers through Nico’s hair once more. “I won’t, Nico, I promise, I promise.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Nico’s had, and held him until Nico’s sobs had finally quieted down. “Let’s lay back down, Darling. It’s still the middle of the night and you and I both need to rest.” He relaxed his hold and allowed Nico to settled back down against the pillows before he shut off the light. Will laid down beside Nico and wrapped him up in his arms once more. “I love you, Nico. I’m not going anywhere.”

Will woke up for the third and final time of the morning with the sun shining into the room and his fiance still asleep beside him.

He smiled, appreciating Nico’s peaceful expression, until the alarm clock on his nightstand began to buzz. Will groaned, rolling over and slamming his hand down on the alarm, and turned back to see Nico’s eyes blinking open slowly. Will wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist, pulling him close and tucking his face against Nico’s neck.

“I don’t wanna go to work today,” Will complained against Nico’s skin. Nico hummed, fingers reaching up to tangle in the hairs on the back of Will’s neck. “What if,” Will started, fingers drawing mindless shapes on Nico’s lower back, “I stay home today, and we don’t leave this spot?”

Nico grinned. “I would love to,” he answered as Will started biting gently at his neck. “There’s just one problem. You’ve got a surgery to do today, and a daughter who’s gonna be up in no time that definitely won’t leave us on our own all day.”

Will groaned again, flopping onto his back with a pout. “Why are you always right?”

Nico leaned over him, planting a hand on his chest and swooped down for a kiss. “Someone has to be.”

Will stroked a hand across Nico’s cheek and brushed his hair behind his ear. “Are you feeling better this morning?”

Nico’s smiled turned forced. “A little. You were probably right that I just needed a good night’s sleep.” He lowered himself back to lay beside Will, turned to face him as Will rolled on his side as well.

“I’ve got some time before I need to get ready to go,” Will told him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Nico dropped his gaze. After a moment or two, he said, “That wasn’t the only nightmare. They’ve been… I’ve had at least one every night since we got home. Usually I wouldn’t even remember them, but I think talking to my dad must’ve...reopened an old wound. Last night… That was so much worse.”

“They’re just nightmares, Darling,” Will reminded him. “I’ll keep you safe, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Lou Ellen returned to the hospital twice a week for physical therapy. She would text Will as soon as she arrived at the hospital and would wait for his response to see if he would meet her for lunch. Sometimes it was before lunch, sometimes after, and sometimes Will was too busy to meet up with her at all, but no matter what, Lou always got a response.

Except for this time. She’d texted him as soon as she reached the hospital, and checked her phone repeatedly until the start of her appointment. Afterwards, she still hadn’t received a response, and ended up trying to call Will. When there was no answer there either, Lou Ellen went up to the surgical floor of the hospital and went to the nearest information desk to ask if Will had shown up to work that day.

“Doctor Solace?” the nurse asked, smiling nervously. “He… He’s here today, yes, but he’s a bit...preoccupied at the moment. Would you like me to...leave a message?”

Lou frowned. “No, that’s alright, I’ll just talk to him the next time I’m here. Can you tell me if he’s scheduled to be here on Thursday?”

The nurse started to look panicked, like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to answer. “Well, um. I can’t… I’m not at liberty to give out anyone’s schedules, but you can always call to check in on him.”

“Alright, thank you,” Lou said, and turned away from the desk. She tried not to overthink the way the nurse had acted - call to check in on him? That sounded more like she was talking about a patient than a doctor.

Around two, Nico texted Will asking if he’d be off work in time to pick a few things up from the store before dinner. After half an hour without an answer, Nico wasn’t worried. Will was usually busy, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t run to the store himself.

The two returned home, and Nico and Bianca put away the groceries before Nico made Bianca a snack. Around five, he called Will, and there was no answer. To Will’s voicemail, Nico said, “Hey, babe, call me back if you’re gonna be home in time for dinner, okay? Love you.”

Will didn’t call back.

Nico and Bianca had spaghetti for dinner and watched TV for a little while before it was time for Bianca to go to bed. It took more convincing than usual for Nico to get Bianca to stay in her room; she never wanted to sleep before Will got home to kiss her goodnight, and tonight was no different. Nico told her a bedtime story, one about a magic pirate ship (because honestly, Nico could never get enough of pirate stories), and promised her that as soon as Will got home, he would come say goodnight. He kissed Bianca on the forehead and turned off the light when he left the room.

He didn’t try calling Will again before he went to bed.

At this point in his life, Nico was too used to sleeping with someone beside him, so it was difficult to fall asleep in the first place, and after the couple of weeks he’d just had, he wasn’t exactly excited to sleep on his own. When he finally did manage to fall asleep, he was restless.

He tossed and turned all night, waking up fully around three and still feeling an empty bed next to him. He finally felt worry set in like a rock in his stomach, rolling out of bed and wandering the house for a few minutes for any sign that Will had come home, even for a moment, but there was nothing. No keys on the counter, no change of scrubs in the hamper, no tan, freckled body asleep on the couch or in the bed in the guest room.

Nico returned to his and Will’s shared bedroom, unplugging his phone from where it sat on the nightstand, and scrolled through his contacts, hitting the call button next to Will’s name.

“Will?” Nico said softly to his fiance’s voicemail. “I know you’re probably busy and I’m probably worrying for nothing, but-- But I am worrying. As soon as you get this, can you please call me or text me or something?” He paused. “I love you, Sunshine.” And he stopped recording.

Cecil was pacing in the hall outside one of the ICU rooms, reading and rereading everything the chart in his hands had to tell him. Each time he flipped through the pages, he tried to skip over the details of the accident, but his eyes couldn’t help but read over every word. He would remind himself each time that he was looking for something. Reading this over again would just make the panic worse, but he couldn’t help it.

Emergency Contact, he reminded himself again and again. That’s what he was looking for. Why couldn’t he find a single emergency contact?

His frantic reading was interrupted by somebody shouting his name down the hall, and a wheelchair flew down the hall so fast that he thought he was going to be hit.

“Lou?” he asked, slamming the chart closed and hiding the name on the front. “What are you doing here? Why are you in a wheelchair?”

“I’m here for physical therapy; they haven’t cleared me from the wheelchair yet,” she answered, peering around him to look into the room they were in front of, until Cecil blocked her line of sight. “What are you doing here? Outside what looks to be a grown man’s room when you’re a pediatric surgeon?”

Cecil froze, eyes darting through the glass doors to the man lying in the bed before his gaze fell back to Lou Ellen in front of him.

“He’s in there, isn’t he?” Lou asked quietly.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he lied, holding the chart close to his chest.

“He’s not answering my texts, he didn’t come to see me for lunch after physical therapy,” Lou told him. “I had him paged this morning and nobody would tell me where he was.”

Cecil remained silent.

“Give me the chart, Cecil,” Lou demanded.

“I could get fired for that!”

“Then tell me he’s not in there!” She pointed toward the glass separating them from the man in the bed.

Cecil ducked his head, unable to maintain eye contact any longer.

Lou’s breath hitched. “Why doesn’t he have anyone here for him? Didn’t you call anybody?”

“He doesn’t have any emergency contacts. He never listed any when he moved here.”

“Then find his phone and look for one.”

“I can’t just look through his stuff, that’s a violation of patient privacy!”

“He’s your best friend, Cecil, find his phone and call somebody.”

Bianca was cranky, and Nico knew that the only thing that would get her to behave herself was for Will to come home. Nico tried convincing her that Will came home after she went to sleep but had to leave again in the middle of the night, but the he knew the bags under his eyes and the tired tone of his voice couldn’t have convinced anyone.

Eventually, Nico called Hazel. He needed a break, and he wanted to find Will, so he asked his sister to watch Bianca for a few hours. Hazel had agreed, but Bianca had screamed at him when he told her they were leaving - she didn’t want to go anywhere until she saw Will, so Nico had to practically beg to get her dressed and out the door.

He pulled Hazel aside and hugged her as soon as they entered her apartment, which had her worried even more than she already was. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she returned the embrace.

“Will’s not answering my calls,” Nico muttered. “I’m worried about him. Is it too much for me to go to the hospital and try to find him?”

“How long has it been? A Day? Two?” Nico nodded. “Oh, Nico, I’m sure he’s just busy. Go find him, and let me know when you’re on your way back.” She kissed his cheek before guiding him back toward the door.

When Nico sat down in his car, he contemplated how comfortable of a pillow his steering wheel would make. He was still so exhausted, and he wanted nothing more to fall asleep and wake up beside Will like this whole thing had been just another bad dream.

He turned the key and drove out of the parking lot, heading toward the hospital. He hadn’t even gone a mile before he phone started ringing in his pocket, and Nico struggled to fish it out while driving.

He nearly dropped the phone when he saw the name on the screen. He pulled over onto the shoulder as he answered. “Will?”

“Is this Nico?” a voice that was very much not Will’s responded.

“Yes,” Nico said, surprised he could get the word out when he suddenly felt like he was going to throw up any second.

“My name is Doctor Cecil Markowitz,” the voice continued with a stable facade, though Nico could hear it shaking. “There’s been an accident.”

Nico choked on his words. There were so many thoughts running through his head, yet at the same time his mind was blank.

“Will is currently in the ICU,” Cecil continued. “I can tell you more once you get here. Can you… Are you available? To come up to the hospital?”

“I’m on my way,” Nico whispered.

“Ask for directions to the ICU at the front desk,” Cecil told him. “I’ll see you soon.”

Nico hung up the phone, and stared down at it for a moment. He couldn’t find it in himself to move until his stomach turned over, and Nico had to throw open the driver’s side door to vomit on the side of the road. Thankfully, he’d been too worried to eat much at breakfast, but that just meant that he sat hunched over in his seat for a few minutes, body trying to empty an already exhausted stomach. When he could move again, Nico rinsed out his mouth with a bottle of water he found in the door, and started to drive once more.

He thought his body might revolt against him again as he pulled into the parking lot, but he took a second to breathe, to try to calm himself down, and readied himself for whatever he was about to see.

The exterior doors slid open when he walked up. The lights in the lobby were too bright and the receptionist too happy. Her smile didn’t fade as she offered him directions to the ICU.

He shuffled down the hall, passing the waiting room attached to the ER, feeling his stomach clench as he remembered sitting there, waiting for Will to arrive after he’d almost poisoned their daughter--

He stopped. He staggered toward the wall, leaning against it for support as his vision started to blur. He leaned back against the wall, blinking up at the ceiling in hopes of persuading the tears back into his eyes before his legs practically gave out from under him and he slid down the wall. He hung his head between his knees, hoping to stop his head from spinning.

Nico heard the sound of wheels gliding across the floor, though he couldn’t get his legs to move out of the way.

“Hey, man,” a voice said above him, “are you alright?”

He lifted his head slowly to keep his head from spinning even more, and was met with a woman about his age with purple hair and a frown on her face.

“Oh god,” she said, expression falling from polite concern to devastation. “You’re Nico, aren’t you?”

He nodded, wiping under his eyes with the back of his hand. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen pictures of you,” she told him with a sad smile, and held out a hand. “I’m Lou Ellen. Your boy really likes to show you off.”

Nico’s breath hitched as he reached up, but hesitated before taking her hand. “Have you seen him?”

Lou Ellen shook her head. “They won’t let me in, but I’m friends with some of the doctors. They keep telling me he’ll be fine, but I’d kinda like to see for myself. I don’t suppose if I show you the way, you’ll let me in with you?”

Nico nodded. “Yes, please.” He took Lou’s hand and rose to his feet. He stepped behind her wheelchair to give the illusion that he would push her down the hall, but he really just needed something to help him stay standing.

As soon as Nico saw the first sign telling them that they were in the ICU, his legs turned almost gave out from under him, even with the support of Lou’s wheelchair. His heart started hammering in his chest and his vision started blurring once more, though he wasn’t sure whether that was from the nerves or another round of tears forming.

“Lou, I don’t know if I can do it,” he choked out.

“You’re gonna be fine, Nico, and so is he. He’s just knocked out from the surgery, that’s what Cecil said. He’ll wake up soon.”

They continued down the hall, and Nico noticed one doctor loitering around one of the rooms. He looked in their direction, stomping toward them the second he realized who it was. “Lou, I told you, you have to get off this floor--” he paused, seeming to notice Nico for the first time. “You-- You’re Nico?”

Nico nodded, recognizing the voice from the phone. “Cecil, right?”

He nodded back. “Thank God you’re here,” he said. “Now Lou and I have a reason to go in there--” He stopped himself again, eyes widening. “Unless you don’t want us there, of course.”

“It’s fine,” Nico told him, and looked around anxiously. “Where is he?”

“Down here.” Cecil led them a few rooms down the hall before stopping to open one of the doors, holding it open for Nico to walk through.

His heart stopped when he entered the room, eyes landing on his battered fiance and feeling a sob build in his throat. Will had a dark bruise underneath one eye, and a propped up leg in a cast. One arm was held across his chest in a cast. Nico moved toward the bed, dropping heavily into the bedside chair and taking Will’s uninjured hand in his own.

“Where’s his ring?” Nico asked, thumb brushing over the back of Will’s hand as he glanced up at Cecil across the room.

“We usually don’t allow the patients to wear jewelry while they’re here,” Cecil explained. “Especially rings and bracelets, because they can interfere with the blood pressure readings.”

Lou wheeled herself toward a table in the corner of the room, picking up a plastic bag. “He doesn’t care about that, Cecil, he wants his ring.” She propelled herself back over to Nico, handing him the bag. “This is all of his stuff.”

“Stuff?” Nico repeated, taking the bag and holding it in his lap.

“Clothes, shoes, wallet,” Cecil said. “Everything he had with him when he came in.” He jumped slightly, as if remembering something, and reached into his pocket. “Except for this.” He pulled out a phone with a shattered screen, handing it over to Nico.

“Do you know...what happened?” Nico asked.

Cecil scratched at the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m, uh, not actually Will’s doctor, I’m just his friend. So I don’t have all the information. I know it was a car accident, but I don’t really know the details. He has fractured ribs, a broken collarbone, and a crushed foot, but he’s already had surgeries reset all of his bones. He should be cleared as soon as he wakes up.”

“And when will that be?”

Cecil sighed. “We don’t know.”

Nico bit his lip and stared down at his fiance. “Can I have some time alone?”

Cecil nodded. “Of course.” He turned to leave, holding the door open for Lou on their way out.

Nico scooted his chair closer to the bedside, digging through the bag with one hand and still holding Will’s with the other.

“You should’ve tried harder to convince me to stay in bed,” he said softly, fingers closing around the ring and dragging it out.

“Bianca’s upset that you haven’t been home,” he continued, cautiously sliding the ring onto the hand in the sling, careful not to move Will’s arm at all as he did so. “She started singing that song yesterday, the one that makes me think of you.”

He dropped the bag of Will’s clothes, clutching at Will’s uninjured hand with both of his. “You know which one I’m talking about,” he said, and started to sing shakily. “You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine--”

He started to sob.

thanks for reading!!

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[bubblegumwitchswriting]

The Currency We’ve Spent:  Chapter Six

Main Pairing: Will/Nico

Other Pairings: Jason/Piper; Percy/Annabeth; Hazel/Frank; Leo/Calypso

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934799/chapters/38331521

First Chapter (Prologue): here

Previous Chapter: here

Years ago.

Bianca yawned and stretched, accidentally hitting one hand against the window and one hand against Percy's head. He jolted awake, kicking out at the front seat which got Zoe up. All the grumbling, complaining and mixed confusion woke Thalia.

"I hated this motel," Percy commented, pulling himself upright and rubbing at his eyes. "0 stars, would not recommend."

"We booked somewhere for tonight," Thalia said. "So there'll be actual beds and showers. You know providing we can find it."

Zoe and Thalia wanted to go to some museum in some town somewhere. Percy was ambivalent but since he was stuck in the car with them couldn't stop them if he'd wanted to, unless he was planning on walking home. Bianca just wondered whether the museum was part of Thalia's secret mission part of the roadtrip or whether Thalia and the still unexplained Zoe just really liked old stuff.

Bianca had been to a lot of museums as part of their mom's attempt and then their father's attempt to enrich their lives with culture and knowledge. Plus it got them out of the house on the days when there was nothing to do because their mom had frowned upon television except on weekends and even then only after they'd done all their homework and their chores and all other entertainment options had been exhausted. No wonder Nico had gotten so obsessed with mythomagic and his comics - it was sheer self defence against complete and total boredom.

Bianca should get some hobbies. She'd never really found a niche though, never really picked up anything and stuck with it. She'd tried musical instruments, ballet, girl guides and all the other nice, gentile, enriching hobbies her mom thought would be good for her. None of them had caught her interest and so she'd just ended up playing with Nico. It kept him happy and at least now she could claim a very thorough knowledge of mythology even if alongside it she had a very thorough knowledge of attack and defence stats.

They stopped at another McDonald's for breakfast.

"Do you think by the end of this trip we'll be sick of McDonalds?" Percy asked, philosophically as he bit into his egg mcmuffin.

"We'll go to KFC for dinner," Thalia answered, slightly sarcastically. She had the largest coffee they had but wasn't eating. In complete contrast to the day before she seemed tense as a bow string, though whether that was because she had had very little sleep or whether that was because she was anticipating whatever the day was going to bring for her, Bianca didn't know. Zoe was quiet too, but that suited the aloofness she'd presented when they'd first met. Bianca still hadn't gotten the explanation for Zoe's presence. Maybe that would have to be the topic of her and Thalia's next late night talk.

"So what's so special about this museum then?" Percy asked.

"Got an exhibit we need for school," Thalia said. It was a perfectly natural answer but something about it didn't ring quite true.

"You are aware I hate museums right?"

"What's wrong with museums?"

"They are a school trip thing. And school trips always seem to go wrong for me."

"Everything always goes wrong for you," Thalia answered, but she didn't put as much venom in it as she could have done. Percy couldn't even be bothered to answer that with a retort. Thalia, after all, wasn't exactly wrong.

"You don't have to come," Thalia said suddenly. "We could drop you off and you could go I don't know shop or... something."

Whether it was her uninspiring delivery or not, Percy just shook his head.

"I'll take school trip to the museum."

The museum looked like every other museum Bianca had ever gone to, stone steps leading up to a building with lots of columns and fancy triangular bits and lots of darkened windows. Tourists were already streaming up the steps when they got there and they joined the crowds.

"What are you looking for?" Percy asked as they went through the doors. He'd made a beeline for the map, perhaps aiming to streamline their visit and ensure they didn't see anything they didn't have to see.

"Can you even read that?" Zoe asked Percy innocently.

"This little x means treasure right?"

Zoe, slightly unexpectedly laughed.

"So where are we going?" Percy asked.

"Hold on," Thalia reached into the pocket of her jacket and removed a folded bit of paper. She and Zoe examined the paper, looked up at the map, looked down at the paper, looked up at the map. Bianca became even more sure there was something more about this museum than a homework assignment that the famously academically unenthused Thalia was suddenly incredibly invested in. Percy was frowning at them both.

"Greek myths," Thalia said in answer to Percy's earlier question. "But I can't see -"

"There's a Roman exhibit in the Long Gallery." Percy said. "I mean same thing right?"

"You've been around Nico for five minutes, you know it's not," Thalia said. Percy sighed.

"Are you sure it's the right museum?"

Thalia glanced at Zoe, who nodded very firmly.

"Well they change the exhibits every so often so maybe it's not here anymore. You want me to google it?"

Thalia shook her head, tapping the bit of paper against her lips thoughtfully.

"Well let's wander," Percy said, impatient to move off. "We might come across it."

Percy initially walked quickly through each room, but then he got interested in a display of old coins and then in a marine life exhibit. Thalia moved on, slightly restless, and Bianca followed. Unexpectedly Zoe stayed behind with Percy, staring at various marine life.

"What's going on?" Bianca asked. "And by that, I mean what's really going on. There's no way you're only here for homework."

"I told you, you're not getting involved," Thalia said firmly. She glanced left and right at the different exhibits but never stopped long enough to really take anything in.

"Okay fine," Bianca said. "But does Percy know what you're really doing? Because he's getting suspicious."

Thalia sighed.

"I didn't tell him," she said. "I meant to. Like just give him a heads up - I'm not letting him get involved either. But I never got round to it and then I thought maybe it's better he doesn't know anything at all. I probably shouldn't have told you anything."

"What are you so scared of?" Bianca demanded.

"I don't know," Thalia whispered, suddenly candid. "Everything. I'm scared Luke's dead in a ditch somewhere. I'm scared my dad's involved in some shady stuff. I'm scared that he's going to drag Jason into it all."

Bianca pursed her lips.

"Well I think you should tell us," she said, firmly on her high horse. "If your dad is involved in something shady that might impact on us. We're all in this together remember. Heirs to the same business."

"If my dad thinks I'm going to run a business," Thalia said. "He's going to be sorely disappointed."

Bianca laughed and tried to imagine punk rock, rough edged Thalia heading a board meeting.

"I don't know," Bianca said. "I reckon you'd be great. Whip everyone into shape."

Thalia laughed.

"Can you imagine me in a business suit?" she demanded.

"No, no," Bianca said. "You'd have to go in in your regular clothes. Pins and all."

"I think my dad would have a heart attack," Thalia said. "And all his high ranking what-do-you-call-ems after him. He was furious enough when I cut my hair short. He said it was unlady like."

"It's not just dads," Bianca answered, stopping to examine an old vase meditatively. "You know what my mom was like. It was like she was stuck in the Victorian era, she wanted me to be all prim and proper and ladylike."

"She was kind of terrifying sometimes," Thalia agreed. "I always felt like I had to stick my little finger out when drinking and know which fork was which. She loved you though."

Bianca nodded.

"Sometimes I forget that," she said quietly staring at a necklace unseeingly, eyes hot. "And I just remember the bad stuff. But she used to teach Nico and to bake and cook. She always played with us. We would have fun. But I hated her for not letting me do stuff everyone was doing. I wanted to go to karate but that wasn't delicate enough."

"After my mom went I felt relieved for a little bit," Thalia said, more to herself than Bianca. "Then I felt bad that I didn't care, that I wasn't very sad. She was great once when I was really little. But all I really remember is the drinking and the yelling. She forgot Jason once, just left him in a cart at the shops because she got distracted. What kind of mom forgets their kid?"

Bianca didn't have an answer for that. Thalia didn't look away from the display and neither did she.

"You've got to tell me T," Bianca said. "Tell me what's going on. You know I'll just keep asking otherwise."

Thalia sighed and glanced around, obviously looking for Zoe or Percy. Either they were still distracted by the marine exhibit, or they'd wandered on.

"Alright," Thalia said. "But let's find the cafe I saw on that map. I missed breakfast."

Thalia ordered a sandwich, a chocolate bar and another coffee.

"Do you think maybe you're addicted to coffee?" Bianca asked.

"Do you think maybe you should shut up?" Thalia answered, mild and teasing. She was tapping at her phone while her coffee cooled. She dropped it down onto the table and opened the chocolate.

"I'm starving," she said.

"I texted Percy," she added. "Told him we'd meet up here."

Bianca nodded and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"So?" Bianca said pointedly.

Thalia grimaced, like she’d been hoping Bianca would forget.

"Fine," she said with a faintly irritated scowl. "So I told you about the warehouse?"

"You did."

"Well that's the main reason for this whole roadtrip. But there's a couple of stops along the way that I wanted to check out. I wasn't lying about the Greek exhibit: I did want to see it. There's a lot of files in my dad’s office under the names of three Greek gods."

"Hades, Posideon and Zeus," Bianca said. "Those were the nicknames they got. But that's not news."

Thalia nodded.

"But then I found out he sends regular donations to this museum. He doesn't ever donate to anything, but he's been sending money here every year at least once, sometimes more than that. I thought there might be a connection somewhere. I mean the names had to come from somewhere right?"

Bianca shook her head, picking the crusts off her sandwich.

"I don't know Thalia," she said. "Maybe you're right but you shouldn't push it. I mean looking through your dad's finances -"

"The company's finances," Thalia said. "The company that, as you pointed out I am heir to. I want to find out exactly what I'm getting into."

"I don't want you to get into any trouble," Bianca said. "What if you do find something? What are you going to do then?" Thalia shrugged.

"I - ".

She broke off frowning.

The cafe was up on a gallery, and glass fencing allowed an uninterrupted view of the main hall below. Thalia's gaze had settled on the marble floor. She was frozen, frowning, her hand halfway to her mouth.

"Thalia!"

She dropped the piece of sandwich she'd been holding, stood up to lean out over the balcony.

"Thalia!" Bianca tried again. "What is it?"

"That's Jones. He's my dad's guy."

She stood up quickly, her chair scraping on the floor, nearly tipping backwards. Thalia hurried off, making for the stairs. Bianca followed. This was exactly the kind of thing she was worried about. Thalia was headstrong though, and stubborn and no matter how Bianca entreated as they hurried down the escalator she would not listen to reason.

"You can't just go chasing some guy."

"We go way back," Thalia said grimly, not paying the slightest bit of attention. "He kidnapped me once."

"An excellent reason not to stalk him," Bianca said.

"You should go upstairs," Thalia said. "Wait for Percy and Zoe."

"Not if you won't," Bianca said. "Someone's got to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Though that someone seemed to be her, she wasn't particularly good at it. At the bottom of the escalator Thalia didn't stop or pause, in fact she used the momentum of the escalator to move even quicker away. She strode across the hall, scattering tourists who stared at her and at Bianca who hurried along in Thalia's wake.

"Thalia!" Bianca hissed. "Slow down. You're going to knock someone out."

Whether it was Bianca's instruction, or the fact Thalia was beginning to realise she was drawing attention to herself, Thalia did slow ever so slightly.

Jones had gone through into the exhibition halls on the right so that's where Thalia went, and because that's where Thalia went, that was where Bianca went. They went straight through a display on the Egyptians, past a mummy that, under other circumstances Bianca might have stopped and looked at. There was something intrinsically fascinating about the practice of wrapping up the dead.

Thalia was frowning, pace quickening. As they went through into the next room, they finally caught sight of Jones again and Thalia allowed them both to slow. Jones wasn’t hard to tail: he was the only other person in the museum walking with such intent. He stood out in his suit, he stood out in the way he walked along, uninterested in the ancient artefacts he was surrounded by.

They went into the next room.

"Greeks," Thalia whispered. "I told you. But why couldn't we see this on the map?"

"Because apparently none of us can read a map and Zoe wasn't paying attention?" Bianca suggested, in equally hushed tones.

"What is the deal with Zoe anyway?" Bianca asked on the vague hope the sudden question might startle Thalia into an actual answer.

"Not now," Thalia hissed. "What's he looking at?"

Jones had paused very briefly at one of the cases, made a very quick note in a journal he pulled from his pocket and then moved on. Thalia cast a quick glance over the case before following him. Bianca paused, hanging back for a moment while she stared into the glass cabinet, trying to figure out what could have attracted the guys attention. There was nothing particularly special, nothing that could stand out as being a special or time limited acquisition. In fact a quick glance around the rest of the room was enough to see that almost every item had another, similar item in a case somewhere around the room.

And yet something was bothering her. Something was tugged at her memory, something was familiar. Was it just because she spent so much time playing cards with Nico? Was it just something in the case reminded her of one of those cards or one of those stories? Or was it something more sinister. Thalia was so sure something was going on.

Bianca had to agree. She'd tried to dissuade Thalia, admittedly not especially well, but she'd tried. Now she was catching the bug too. She was probably just jumpy, seeing patterns where there were none.

And Thalia had run off on her own while she'd been staring at a few urns and some assorted coins.

She quickly hurried into the next room but there was no Thalia. She didn't stop, just went through to the next room, and then the next room and then she was back in the entrance hall, having completed the loop.

And there she was standing, glowering.

"Thalia! What happened?"

"He vanished," Thalia said, quietly furious, quietly seething. "He must have seen me and doubled back somehow. Or - I don't know. He can't have got that far ahead of me. One minute he's there and then he goes into the next room, I catch up like two seconds later and he's gone. Just gone."

"I don't think he doubled back," Bianca said. "I was still in the Greek room and I didn't see anyone come through."

She thought.

"But then I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention," she admitted.

Thalia was still scowling, still seething. She threw up her hands.

"Then where did he go!" she said. "I refuse to believe there was a secret door."

Bianca gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Hey," she said. "At least you were right. It looks like there is something going on with this museum."

Thalia sighed, the anger leaving her in her outward huff of breath.

"Or maybe Jones was just here to do his homework," she said.

Bianca giggled.

"We should meet the others," she said. "Percy already thinks you’re losing it with your sudden museum fascination. Don't want to make him think you've lost your interest in food too."

Thalia nodded, accepting that.

Percy and Zoe had found a table and had already gotten their food. The table Bianca and Thalia had been sitting at had been cleared which meant Bianca had lost her lunch. Thalia paid for a replacement, once again using her dad's credit card.

"Does he know you have that?" Bianca asked.

"Oh yes," Thalia said. "It's for emergencies."

"This is an emergency?"

"Food is a necessity," Thalia said innocently. Bianca was pretty sure Thalia's definition of emergency got stretched in lots of other ways too. Emergency new shoes, emergency records, emergency road trip.

"Are we done with the museum?" Percy asked. "Not that I didn't enjoy it because you know in the end it wasn't terrible, but I'm ready to do something that couldn't in any way be classed as educational."

Thalia laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "I think I'm done with this place."

After eating they did, as Percy requested, leave to find something to do that wasn't in any way classed as educational. That required a bit of wandering, but the sun was shining and the day was warm and they found an ice cream shop so they all got cones and so wandering wasn't so bad. They took a photo in a park, which Bianca partly suspected was at least 70% so they'd have road trip proof in case Thalia's father asked. (If his credit card statement wasn't proof enough.)

They checked into a motel where there were actual beds and actual showers and a TV with lots of channels and nothing on. Bianca stayed in the shower a long time, until the bathroom was nothing but steam, and thought and thought. She couldn't get the glass case at the museum out of her head. There was something.

Something.

They had two rooms, but they all gathered in one talking and ignoring the television. It was pushing midnight when they even began thinking about going to bed, gone one by the time they actually started acting on it. In the dark, unfamiliar room, Bianca lay on the unfamiliar bed, the sheets pulled up to her chin and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. She was just drifting off, her mind finally exhausted of turning over all the possibilities when it came to her in a flash.

Thalia was in the next room, but even so Bianca briefly considered waking her to tell her what she’d figured out.

But no, Percy was there too.

It would have to wait until morning.

[dumbledearme]

chapter thirty-one—love never dies

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act IV — To Stop The Tide

Part VI — I was so afraid, now I realize: love is never wrong and so it never dies.

The big ranch house was white. “Don’t break the rules,” Eurytion warned. “No fighting. No drawing weapons. And don’t make any comments about the boss’s appearance.”

“Why?” Andy asked. “What does he looks like?”

Before Eurytion could reply, a new voice said, “Welcome to the Triple G Ranch.” The man on the porch had a normal head but three bodies. His neck connected to the middle chest like normal, but he had two more chests, one to either side, connected at the shoulders, with a few inches in between. His left arm grew out of his left chest, and the same on the right, so he had two arms, but four armpits. The chests all connected into one enormous torso, with two regular but very beefy legs.

“Say hello to Mr Geryon,” Eurytion advised.

“Hello,” the four of them said together.

Eurytion made the introductions. Then Nico di Angelo came out of the glass doors onto the porch. "Geryon, I won't wait for-" he froze when he saw them. Then he drew his sword.

"Put that away, Mr di Angelo," Geryon snarled. "I ain't gonna have my guests killing each other."

"But that's-"

"Andy Jackson," Geryon supplied. "Anthony Chase. And a couple of their monster friends. Yes, I know."

"Monster friends?" Grover said indignantly.

"The man is wearing three shirts," Tyson only then realized.

"They let Bianca die!" Nico's voice trembled with rage.

"Nico," Andy tried to apologize, "what happened to Bianca was-"

"Don't speak her name! You aren't worthy to even talk about her!"

"Just put the sword away, Mr di Angelo, before I have Eurytion take it from you."

Reluctantly, Nico sheathed his sword. "If you come near me, Jackson, I'll summon help. You don't want to meet my helpers, I promise."

"I believe you," she whispered.

Geryon patted Nico's shoulder. "There, we've all made nice. Now come along, folks. I want to give you a tour of the ranch." He had a trolley thing – like one of those kiddie trains that take you around zoos. Nico sat in the very back with Eurytion beside him. Orthus jumped in the front seat with Geryon. Anthony, Andy, Grover and Tyson took the middle two cars. "We have a huge operation," Geryon boasted as the moo-mobile lurched forward. "Horses and cattle mostly, but all sorts of exotic varieties, too."

They came over a hill and Anthony gasped. "Hippalektryons? I thought they were extinct!" The animals had the front half of a horse and the back half of a rooster. Their rear feet were huge yellow claws. They had feathery tails and red wings.

"Rooster ponies," Tyson said. "Do they lay eggs?"

"Once a year," Geryon grinned. "Very much in demand for omelettes!"

"You can't do that!" Anthony said. "They must be an endangered species!"

"Gold is gold, Mr Chase," he said. "And you haven't tasted the omelettes."

"That's not right," Grover mumbled.

"Now, over here," said Geryon, "we have our fire-breathing horses, which you may have seen on your way in. They're bred for way, naturally."

"What war?" Andy asked.

"Any war," Geryon shrugged. "And over yonder, of course, are our prize red cows. Apollo is busy to see them, so he subcontracts to us. We breed them vigorously because they're such a demand."

"For what?" Andy asked.

Geryon raised an eyebrow. "Meat, Miss Jackson! Armies have to eat!"

"You kill the sacred cows of the sun god for hamburger meat?" Grover said. "That's against the ancient laws!"

"Oh, don't get so worked up, young satyr. They're just animals."

"Just animals!"

"Yes. And if Apollo cared, I'm sure he would tell us."

"If he knew, you mean," Andy muttered.

Nico sat forward. "I don't care about any of this, Geryon. We had business to discuss, and this wasn't it!"

"All in good time, Mr di Angelo. Look over here; some of my exotic game." The next field was crawling with giant scorpions. "And over here, my prize stables! You must see them!"

About a hundred horses were milling around in poop. The horses were really gross from wading through it, and the stables were just as bad. It reeked like you would not believe. Even Nico gagged. "What is that?"

"My stables!" Geryon presented. "Well, actually, they belong to Aegeas, but we watch over them for a small monthly fee. Aren't they lovely?"

"They're disgusting," Anthony said.

"Lots of poop," Tyson observed.

"How can you keep animals like that?" Grover cried.

"Y'all getting on my nerves," Geryon said. "These are flesh-eating horses, see? They like these conditions. Besides, my clients still pay me well for this."

"What clients?" Andy demanded.

"Oh, you'd be surprised how many people will pay for a flesh-eating horse. They make great garbage disposals. Wonderful way to terrify your enemies. Great at birthday parties! We rent them out all the time."

"You're a monster," Anthony decided.

Geryon stopped the trolley. "What gave it away? Was it the three bodies?"

"You have to let these animals go," Grover said. "It's not right."

"And the clients," Anthony said, "you work for Kronos, don't you? You're supplying his army with whatever they need."

Geryon shrugged. "I worked for anyone who pays me. I'm a businessman. I sell whatever I have to offer." He climbed out of the trolley.

Nico went after him. "I came here for business and you haven't answered me."

"Fine. You'll get a deal, all right."

"My ghost told me you could help. He said you could guide us to the soul we need."

"I thought I was the soul you wanted," Andy asked.

Nico glanced at her, disgusted. "Why would I want you, Jackson? Bianca's soul is worth a thousand of yours! Now, can you help me, Geryon, or not?"

"Oh, I imagine, I could," the rancher said. "But, pray, tell me. Where is your ghost?"

Nico looked uneasy. "He can't form in broad daylight. It's hard for him. But he's around."

Geryon smiled. "I'm sure. Minos likes to disappear when things get... difficult."

"Minos?" Andy exclaimed. "That evil king? That's the one telling you what to do?"

"None of your business, Jackson!" Nico said. "Geryon, what do you mean about things getting difficult?"

Geryon sighed. "You see, Mr di Angelo, Mr Castellan is offering very good money for half-bloods. And I'm sure when he learns who you really are, he'll pay very, very well indeed."

Nico drew his sword, but Geryon knocked it out of his hand. Before Andy could get up, Orthus pounced on her chest and growled.

"Nobody moves or Orthus will tear Miss Jackson's throat out," Geryon warned. "Now, Eurytion, if you'd be so kind, secure Mr di Angelo." Eurytion wrapped one huge arm around Nico and lifted him up like a wrestler. "Pick up the sword, too," Geryon ordered. "There's nothing I hate worse than Stygian iron. Now, we've had the tour. Let's go back to the lodge, have some lunch, and send an Iris-message to our friends in the Titan army."

"Get Orthus to back off," Anthony told him.

"Don't worry, Mr Chase. Once I've delivered Mr di Angelo, you and your party can go. I don't interfere with quests. Besides, I've been paid well to give you safe passage, which does not, I'm afraid, include Mr di Angelo."

"Paid by whom?" Anthony asked. "What do you mean?"

"Never you mind. Let's be off, shall we?"

"Wait!" Andy cried and Orthus growled louder. She tried not to move. She needed a plan. She needed to keep Nico safe. She owed him that much. "Geryon, you said you're a businessman. Make me a deal."

Geryon narrowed his eyes. "What sort of deal? Do you have gold?"

"I've got some even better. Barter."

"Miss Jackson, you've got nothing."

"You could have her clean the stables," Eurytion suggested.

"Yes!" Andy exclaimed. "I'll do it! I'll do anything, really!"

"But the horses might eat ya," Geryon observed.

"I don't care! If I fail, you can just... you get to trade us all to Luke for gold, I guess. But- But if I succeed, you've got to let us go, including Nico."

"No!" Nico screamed. "Don't do me any favors, Jackson. I don't want your help!"

Geryon chuckled. "I think not." Eurytion gave Andy a funny look. He whistled and Orthus got off of her. "What are you doing?" Geryon asked. Andy got up and drew her sword. "Eurytion, kill the girl. Now."

Eurytion studied Andy. "Kill her yourself."

Geryon raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Eurytion grumbled. "You keep sending me out to do your dirty work. You pick fights for no good reason. I'm tired of dying for you. You want to fight the girl, do it yourself."

Geryon spat on the ground. "You dare defy me? I should fire you right now!"

"And who'd take care of your cattle?"

"Fine!" Geryon snarled. "I'll deal with you later, after the demigod is dead!" He unsheathed two knives from his extra-large belt and threw them at Andy. She dodged one and deflected the other with her sword.

Andy attacked. Geryon dodged her first strike, but he wasn't much of a fighter. Andy got inside his next thrust and stabbed him right through the middle chest. "Aghhh!" He crumbled to his knees. Then he grinned and stood up. The wound started to heal.

"Nice try, child of land and sea," he said. "Thing is, I have three hearts. The perfect backup system." Geryon was about to attack her when he froze. Anthony had moved so fast Andy hadn't see him. He had thrown his knife into the side of Geryon's right chest. It had gone through each o his chests and flown out his left side.

Geryon's face turned a sickly shade of green. He collapsed to his knees and began crumbling into sand, until there was nothing left of him.

"Cool," Andy said, but Anthony looked extremely miserable. He picked up his knife without a word and avoided looking at her. Andy glanced at Eurytion who didn't seem upset at all. "How long until he re-forms?"

Eurytion shrugged. "Hundred years? He's not one of those fast re-formers, thank the gods."

"You said you'd died for him before. How?"

"I've worked for that creep for thousands of years. Started as a regular half-blood, but I chose immortality when my dad offered it. Worst mistake I ever made. Now I'm stuck here at this ranch. I can't leave. I can't quit. I just tend the cows and fight Geryon's fights. We're kinda tied together."

"Maybe you can change things," she told him. "Be nice to the animals. Take care of them. Stop selling them for food. And stop dealing with the Titans. Get the animals on your side, and maybe they'll help you. Once Geryon gets back, maybe he'll be working for you."

Eurytion grinned. "That would be worth being alive to see."

Andy turned to Nico. "Maybe you should stay here until we're done with our quest. You'd be safe here."

"Safe?" Nico scowled. "What do you care if I'm safe? You got my sister killed!"

"Nico," Anthony said, and he sounded strangely tired. "That wasn't Andy's fault. And Geryon wasn't lying about Kronos wanting you. If he knew who you were, he'd do anything to get you on his side."

"I'm not on anyone's side. Nor will I ever be. Everyone I've ever loved let me down."

"Your sister wouldn't want-"

"You didn't know my sister! And if you cared about her at all, you'd help me bring her back!"

"A soul for a soul?" Andy asked.

"Yes!"

Andy shook her head. "Bianca wouldn't want to be brought back. Not like that."

"You didn't know her!"

"Let's ask her then," Andy suggested and the sky seemed to grow darker.

"I've tried," Nico said miserably. "She won't answer me."

"But she will answer me."

"Why would she?"

"Because," Andy said, suddenly sure of it, "she's been sending me Iris-messages. She's been trying to warn me what you're up to, so I can stop you."

Nico shook his head. "That's impossible."

"One way to find out."

"Andy," Anthony said. "I don't think this is a good idea."

Eurytion scratched his beard. "There's a hole dug out back. You could use that."

And just like that, it was decided.

They did the summoning after dark. Andy was scared. It felt wrong, unnatural. The night air felt cold and menacing.

Minos decided to appear.

"You're disrupting the ritual," Nico told him. "Get out of the way."

"Yes, master. You keep chanting. I've only come to protect you from the liar who tries to deceive you with her womanly charms." Minos turned to Andy. "Child of land and sea. She has the looks, don't you see? Very pretty. Like the ocean. And like the ocean she will crush you with her waves, smother and delude you, letting you think that's love when in fact it is nothing but death."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Andy said.

"Because you're a woman. But we are men," he glanced at the others, one by one, defying them to argue. "They know what I'm talking about. They see it, too."

"Okay, enough with the sex-offender act," Andy mumbled. "Get lost."

The ghost chuckled. "I understand you once killed my Minotaur with your bare hands. But worse things await you in the maze, Andy Jackson. Do you really believe Daedalus will help you? He cares nothing for you, half-bloods. You cannot trust him. He is old beyond counting, and crafty. He is bitter from the guilt of murder and is cursed by the gods."

"The guilt of murder?"

"You are hindering Nico," Minos growled, ignoring her. "You try to persuade him to give up his goal. I would make him a lord!"

"Enough, Minos," Nico commanded.

The ghost sneered. "Master, you are blinded. Smitten. You must not listen to the siren! Let me protect you. I will turn her mind to madness, as I did the others."

"You did that to Chris Rodriguez," Anthony accused.

"The maze is my property," Minos said, "not Daedalus'! Those who intrude deserve madness!"

"Be gone, Minos!" Nico demanded. "I want to see my sister!"

The ghost bit back his rage. "As you wish, master. But I warn you. You cannot trust the girl. The sea is not forgiving." With that, he faded into mist.

Nico gave Andy this weird, pained look before resuming his chanting. It was like he wasn't at all sure if he should listen to Minos or not.

Then, with a silvery light, she was there. Nico's chanting faltered. Bianca smiled. "Hello, Andy." She looked the same as she had in life; there wasn't a trace of resentment in her face. Andy's eyes immediately watered up. The guilt threatened to crush her.

"Bianca," she said with difficulty. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Andy. I made a choice. I don't regret it."

Nico stumbled forward. Bianca turned toward him. Her expression was sad, as if she'd been dreading this moment. "Hi, Nico. You've gotten so tall."

"Why didn't you answer me sooner?" he cried. "I've been trying for months!"

"I was hoping you'd give up."

"Give up?" he shouted, heartbroken. "How can you say that? I'm trying to save you!"

"I can't be saved, Nico. Stop trying. Andy is right."

"No! She let you die! She is not your friend!"

"Listen to me," she said with urgency. "Holding grudges is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal flaw. You have to let go. You need to forgive. Promise me!"

"I can't. Never."

"Andy can help, Nico. I'm sorry, I... I've been avoiding you because I was ashamed. It's not Andy you're mad at, Nico. It's me. I left you to become a Hunter of Artemis. You're mad because I died and left you alone. I'm sorry for that, Nico. I truly am. But you must overcome the anger. Blaming Andy won't take you nowhere. It'll be your doom."

"I just want you back," he said, weakly.

"You can't have that."

"I'm the son of Hades! I can!"

"Stop trying," her figure shimmered. "If you love me..."

"Of course I do! That's why I want you back-"

"Nico..." her voice trailed off. "You may give me all your love and my heart won't quit being cold." She looked over her shoulder. "Tartarus stirs," she warned. "Your power draws the attention of Kronos. The dead must return to the Underworld. It is not safe for me to remain."

"Wait," Nico pleaded. "Please-"

"Remember what I said, Nico," Bianca told him. "And know that love doesn't die when the heart stops beating. Goodbye."

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

Warm Me Up ch. 37

This one is shorter but that’s because it was not only hard to write, but I was also listening to some painful songs. I could read over it or elaborate without opening my own can of worms so.... Mediocrity will have to do for this one. Sorry, but thank you for reading. 

Click Here for Ch. 1

Click Here for Ch. 36

index

It had been a restless night. As Nico slept, Will would hear sudden shuddering breaths- the aftermath of crying so much before falling asleep. Will struggled to wrap his mind around all the pain Nico faced. He didn’t want to let him go even when Nico groaned and tried to pull away in his sleep because it was hot and he was sweaty. Will couldn’t sleep well. Not after hearing everything Nico had lived through.

“Thank you for saving me.” Those had been the last words Nico uttered before falling into his fitful sleep. As if it had been because of Will that Nico overcame everything. As if Will had been the one picking him up each time something happened. As if Will had been the one to keep him alive this long.

Nico had no idea how strong he was. He had no concept of the strength he held in himself. The resilience. Will knew that not everyone would’ve made it to college in Nico’s circumstances. He knew that not everyone would’ve been able to live on their own. He knew that not everyone would’ve been able to make it through such a toxic environment. But Nico had.

Nico had pushed through, and he was here, in the same bed as Will, breathing, rosy-cheeked. Sleeping, he looked younger. Not at peace, not completely. There was still a furrow in his eyebrows and a slight frown in his parted lips. But he didn’t look like a 19 year-old who had grown up almost completely alone and all too quickly. He looked smaller, more vulnerable.

Will wondered vaguely how many people had woken up to Nico. How many people had slept beside him and seen the same sleeping face? Then he wondered if any of them appreciated and loved the sight as much as Will did. He wondered if any of them looked at Nico with the amount of wonder Will felt. If any of them had any idea how incredibly strong Nico was.

Something told him nobody ever had.

By the time the sun came up and the light filtered through the blinds into the room, Will was still slowly threading his fingers through Nico’s messy hair. Sleep had managed to overcome him as he looked at soft light shading Nico’s face.

When he woke up, he could hear the shower running. It was nearly noon, and Will couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up so late. He pulled himself up and checked his phone for a few minutes before the bathroom door opened.

The sight made him blush stoplight red. Nico was standing with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, waterdrops dripping from his hair and sliding slowly down his chest and shoulders. He was beautiful.

“He’s coming.” The words snapped Will back to reality and he noticed the anxious look in his eyes. “My father is coming. He got a flight.”

“Today?” Nico nodded. Will wasn’t sure what to say. After their conversation the night before, he wasn’t too fond of Mr. di Angelo.

Nico walked into his closet, speaking from there as Will sat frozen on the bed. “He just called and said he got a flight and was coming down. He said he’d call again when he landed, and I don’t know if I’m supposed to let him stay here or if I want to see him right away or how to even start talking to him. Do I just start yelling? Do I keep it polite? What the fuck am I supposed to do? Why did I do anything last night, God, I’m so fucking stupid!”

“Whoa, Nico, stop.” Will walked over to the closet door. “Can I come in?”

He heard a resigned, “Yes,” and peeked around the door to the other end of the walk-in closet where Nico was wearing jeans but no shirt.

He walked over to him and sighed as he thumbed over the crease in his eyebrows. “First, I need you to breathe.” Nico took a dramatic deep breath. Will couldn’t help but smile. “Okay. Now, if you don’t want him staying here, I’m sure you can say that. Suggest a hotel when he lands. He’ll get the hint.” Nico nodded and bit his lip. “And I’m sure that when you do meet with him, what you have to say will come up.” Nico grimaced and glanced around anxiously. “Do you want me with you?”

His eyes rested on Will, wide, dark, filled with so much emotion it made Will want to shield him from all harm. “No,” he answered softly. “No. I have to do this on my own.” Will nodded in understanding and smiled at him. “Do you see me differently?” he whispered. Will raised an eyebrow. “After what I told you last night?”

He smiled and nodded, speaking before Nico could panic. “I think you’re stronger than I could have imagined. You didn’t let your past define who you are now. And I’m happy you trusted me and talked to me.”

“I love you,” he answered, pulling him into a kiss.

Suddenly, Nico’s ringtone pierced through the apartment, causing him to freeze. Nico peeled away from Will and Will could hear his voice, stronger than he expected.

“Hello? Oh okay…. Um, yeah there’s a really nice hotel nearby. Oh okay. Oh…. Oh. Um, yeah today’s good. There’s a Starbucks right on the outskirts of downtown by the Hooters. Yeah. Okay. Um, bye. You too.” He hung up and Will heard a heavy sigh.

He walked out of the closet and saw Nico sitting on the bed. “I feel sick.”

“You’re nervous. It’s okay.”

“He brought his girlfriend. Said she’d stay in the hotel while he met with me. It sounds like a fucking business meeting,” he muttered. Will sat beside him and took his hand.

Lips brushing against Nico’s temple, he said, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“I do want to,” he answered. “It’s just… taking a lot of preparation.” Will nodded and interlocked their hands loosely.

He began to sing softly, and Nico started chuckling. “Why are you singing Katy Perry, you dork?” he asked, smiling at him.

“It’s inspiring,” he answered.

Nico laughed and tackled Will back against the bed. “I love you so much,” he laughed as he beamed down at Will. It was beautiful to see. Such a wonderful smile on his face, such a beautiful gleam in his eyes. And it was being gifted to Will.

Without having to answer, Will pulled Nico down for a kiss, this time without interruption.

***

He was certain he’d be sick. Anxiously waiting for his father’s car by the window, Nico began to wish he hadn’t invited his father into this city where he had built a new life. Will was on a hospital shift, so Nico had no other reassurance than the echo of his words before he left.

Suddenly a sleek dark blue car pulled up and Nico’s phone buzzed with a message.

I’m here.

Taking one more deep breath, he grabbed his keys and left his apartment to meet his father for the first time in months.

He got into the car and looked at his father. His hair had grown out. He had a well-maintained, shaped beard. Nico couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like he was larger in some way. He’d either gained weight or started working out.

“God, look at you, Nico. You’re all grown up.” Nico grimaced. He had no idea.

“I guess so,” he murmured. “What’d your girlfriend say about being left at the hotel?”

“She was the one who suggested it,” he answered as he drove. “She thought we should have time together. Father-son bonding.” Nico resisted the urge to snort. “So how was school?”

“It’s been over for months, Dad. I did fine.”

“What classes are you going to take next?”

“I don’t remember.” He frowned out the window. Why was he asking all of these questions now? It felt fake and empty. The entire meeting or bonding or whatever the fuck you wanted to call it just seemed like a stupid idea now.

In fact, the next half hour in which they sat at the café felt like five hours filled with awkward silences and flitting glances. Nico responded in single syllables or short sentences, and his father ran out of questions very quickly.

It was hard to open up. It was hard to say what he felt. It was hard to look at his father without feeling a horrible sense of pain in his chest.

Soon, they returned to the apartment. Nico was about to get out, feeling defeated, but his father stopped him. “You wanted to talk. You asked me to come down here, Nico.” He sounded upset. And the fact that he sounded upset made Nico angry. “So why haven’t you talked to me? What the hell are these one worded answers?”

“Oh shut up,” he snapped. “They never bothered you before.” He opened the door and started for his apartment.

Surprisingly, his father followed him, calling his name. “Why did you call me down here if you weren’t going to talk to me? Why won’t you talk to me?”

He scowled and walked into his apartment, and although his father didn’t come in, he held the door open. “Go away! It’s what you always did anyway!” He turned and began to lash out at his father as years of repressed hurt and anger began to burst in him like dynamite. “Where were you when I wanted to talk to you about Mom or Bianca?” he shouted, shoving him back. “Where were you when I started drinking until I passed out at fifteen?” Another shove. “Where were you when I wanted to know why my voice squeaked or why my first kiss felt so weird?” Another shove. “Where the fuck were you, Dad?”

He turned away, putting his fists to his eyes. His chest felt like he’d cracked it open and he didn’t want to stop talking until he had expulsed every horrible feeling in him. “Do you remember the things you would tell me when you were drunk?” he asked, staring at his bedroom door. He turned and felt the tears sting his eyes. “You said it should’ve been me,” he croaked. “You said Bianca would’ve been better.” Tears fell down his cheeks. “I was ten years old, Dad! Ten! And you wanted me dead!”

“No,” his father answered. “No, Nico, I didn’t want that. I never wanted that.”

“Shut up! You wanted me to talk? I’m talking now!” he shouted with a breaking voice. “Do you have any idea what you did to me? You made me grow up too fast. You pushed me away and forgot me. You wouldn’t look at me unless you were screaming at me!”

“I couldn’t look at you, Nico! You looked so much like them,” his father answered with a quavering voice. “You reminded me of what I lost, son.”

Nico’s eyes widened in anger, his jaw clenched, his nostrils flared, and tears ran down relentlessly. “I lost them too!” he shouted. “I lost them, and I missed them, and I grieved them! But I lost you too! I lost my entire family! You were my father! You were supposed to protect me, play catch with me, teach me to drive. You were supposed to take care of me!” He walked toward his father and shoved him.

He thought of his first kiss, the disappointment in him when he found his father wasn’t home. Of the way he’d cried when he saw his father wasn’t cheering him on with everyone else’s parents at his soccer game. Of the disgust he felt when he slept with someone and still didn’t feel like he was mature enough not to need his father. The hatred that built and led him to drink until he didn’t know his name, until he didn’t hate himself. And for each memory and each emotion, he shoved his father back again and again until he was against a wall.

In the state he was in, he didn’t use much force, but each shove was a heavy blow to his father. Each shove pushed him back, even if Nico didn’t use enough force to knock over a salt shaker.

“Do you know what it was like to grow up hating myself, wanting to end everything every fucking day, feeling like I was never good enough?” he shouted. “Do you know how many times I woke up in a stranger’s house, how many classes I slacked in?” He shoved his arms forward. “Look at me! Look at all my fucking scars! The burns, the cuts, the scrapes, the scratches! Look at them!” His father’s eyes flitted down to his extended arms. In the pale light, the scars all seemed a little more prominent. “I resorted to this to get my brain to shut up! You were never there when I needed you and I fucked my entire life up!

“You took away my childhood! My family. You were all I had left.” The more he talked, the more he wanted to shout. But it hurt too much. He could barely spit the words out, much less shout them. His voice was raw, broken, shaking from the sobs that racked his body. He imagined his face must have been a contorted mess, but he didn’t care. “You left me alone. You left for weeks. And you had no idea what happened to me. You didn’t care. You didn’t watch me grow. You weren’t a father.

“Where were you when I had soccer games? When I won the spelling bee or had an award ceremony? When I performed at a talent show? Where were you when I got to the school decathlon and graduated with honors? Where were you? I needed my father! I fucking needed my father and he wasn’t there!” Suddenly, he was on his knees, hunched over, his hands against the ground as he sobbed. “I needed my Papa. I needed you.”

A few moments later, he felt arms wrap around him. His father was on the floor, pulling him closer. Part of Nico wanted to pull away and punch him. But another part of him, that ten year old that he’d suffocated long ago- that part wanted nothing more than to be cradled in his father’s arms so no harm would ever come. He wanted to be small and young and innocent. He wanted to be innocent.

“Shh, shh,” his father shushed. “I’m here. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I’m here now. Shh.” He held him tightly and Nico was surprised to feel hot tears drop onto his arms. He glanced up and found his father crying as he rocked him.

It must have looked strange; a grown 19-year-old being rocked by his father on the floor. But it didn’t matter. Because Nico needed to get put back together, and Will wasn’t the one who had to do it this time.

“I d-did h-horrible things,” he cried, gripping his father’s arms. “I h-hurt p-people, Dad. I hurt mys-self.”

“That’s okay, Nico,” he murmured as he cradled his child. “It’s in the past. It’s okay. I still love you.” He pulled away and lifted Nico’s face. “I grieved the wrong way. I drank too much, I pushed you away. And when I realized it…. I couldn’t fix it. I wanted to make it up to you by giving you everything you would want. The car you want, the college you want, everything. I didn’t know what I was doing to you. I’m so sorry, Nico. I’m so sorry.” He took a shaking breath. “I know you missed them too. I know you needed me. And I needed you not to need me.” He ruffled his hair lightly and looked at him with a decade’s worth of regret. “My little boy,” he whispered. “Please, forgive me.”

“I don’t know if I can,” he croaked.

His father shook his head and looked down in shame. “I know I didn’t do this right. But I’m better now. I’m a better person. Let me fix this. Let me be a better father, Nico.”

Nico stared at his father’s eyes, so similar to his own. He knew what it was like to change, to need a second chance. To need forgiveness like the need to breathe. And Nico didn’t know how long it would take, but he knew how to decide if he really wanted to try.

He nodded and gulped, wiping his eyes. “Okay.” He pulled away and sat on the floor in front of his father. “We can try this again. I think we’ve both changed.”

His father grabbed his arm and furrowed his eyebrows. “Is this why you wanted a therapist?” Nico nodded. “Nico, you said you…. You said you wanted to end things?”

“Not anymore,” he whispered. “Actually… I had some help there. Dad, there’s someone I want you to meet.” His father raised an eyebrow. “I’m seeing someone. And they’ve helped me so much. You can bring your girlfriend if you want. We can have dinner here or go out. Whatever you’d like.”

“I’d love that,” he answered.

Nico smiled and found himself wanting to tell his father more. For a little bit, he had his father back, and he could be young and just sit on the floor to talk to him.

“I stopped drinking too,” he said proudly. “Almost five months sober. And I can cook for myself and I keep up with laundry. My medicine is starting to help. I don’t get sad as often anymore. We might even plan a road trip this semester, me and my friends. My therapist said I’ve been doing really well, and I’ve made a lot of progress. Sometimes I still feel like I suck, but sometimes I feel really good.”

“Yeah?” His father smiled and Nico kept talking. He told him about Leo and Percy and Annabeth. He talked about everything except Will. That would wait for the day they met.

A few hours later, Nico got a text from Will saying he was off his shift and asking how it went with his dad. “Oh, uh, Dad I have laundry and stuff to do. I’m sure your girlfriend misses you. Go out and see the city. I’ll figure out when we can all go out for dinner, yeah?”

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to,” he said with a smile. They walked to the door and before heading to the car, his father turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Nico looked at him expectantly, before his father simply pulled him into a bear hug. “I’m so proud of you, Nico. Even though I messed up, you still grew to be a wonderful young man.”

Nico couldn’t find words. He just hugged his father back and swallowed the knot in his throat.

Click Here for Ch. 38

[buoyantsaturn]

I’m in Hell (3/?)

summary: How much longer can Nico and Will survive the tension between them? (Also: there’s Valentine’s Day inside!)

word count: 14,432 (45,807 total)

read on ao3 (do this i made edits on that version) | read part two | read part one

Will had been given greater opportunities at work - chances to study under visiting surgeons, invitations to watch some of the more complicated surgeries, and even performing a few surgeries on his own. However, this meant that he was spending more and more time at the hospital and away from home; hours upon hours upon hours. He was lucky to get any sleep at all during that time.

He had dropped Bianca off at school one morning on his way to the hospital, anticipating that he would be home for dinner that night, only to get caught by one of his attendings who offered him a seat in the gallery of his next surgery. After the surgery, there was a call for an incoming trauma just as he was about to leave. Then, he was invited to assist on one of the surgeries that resulted from the trauma. Before Will knew it, the sun was starting to rise, and he’d been awake for at least twenty-four full hours.

He finally managed to get out the door, into his car, and drive most of the way home before the exhaustion hit. For a few moments, Will considered pulling over on the side of the road and taking a nap, but figured he would survive the last five minutes of the drive. His steering wheel probably wouldn’t make for a good pillow, anyway.

Will was mid-yawn when he walked through the door, catching Nico and Bianca in the entryway as they pulled on their coats and shoes. Nico looked surprised for a second before he raised an eyebrow, one corner of his lips quirking up in the tiniest of smiles. “Good morning, Sunshine.”

“Is it time for school already?” Will asked, barely able to keep his eyes open. “Alright, I’ll drive.”

“Uh, no you won’t,” Nico said. “You’re practically asleep standing up. Go to bed, I’ll take Bi to school.”

“But--”

Nico grabbed Will’s arm, not giving him a chance to take off his coat or shoes before pulling him out of the doorway and starting to march him down the hall. A giggling Bianca called after them, “Bye, Daddy!”

“I’ve got it all handled, Solace,” Nico told him, walking Will all the way to his bedroom and even opening the door for him. “We had breakfast, her lunch is packed, and I will make sure she is properly buckled into her carseat. Now, sleep.”

Will started into the room but paused, turning back to Nico and resting the side of his head against the doorway. His eyes were half-shut and he was too tired to form a full smile. “Thank you, Nico.” He walked the rest of the way into the room, shutting the door softly behind himself before shedding his coat and shoes. He stripped out of his scrubs, crawling into bed in only his underwear, too tired to find pajamas to throw on before falling asleep.

Nico, after dropping Bianca off at school, returned to the Solace household where he left his backpack. He intended to pop in, grab his stuff, and head home, but upon considering the fact that Will could very easily sleep for a solid eight hours and might not wake up in time to pick up Bianca, Nico decided to stay.

He curled up on the couch with his laptop, putting his glasses on before opening up a new document for one of his assignments. He’d just started what he hoped would be his last semester of college, and one of his classes was requiring that he have an entire manuscript turned in at the end of the semester. Luckily he already had some ideas, so he wasn’t starting entirely from scratch.

He worked for about three straight hours before he started to get hungry, but he chose to ignore the feeling in favor of the outline he was about halfway through. He wanted to get the outline finished, even if it was incredibly rough, before he took a lunch break to clear his head for a little while.

By the time he did finally set his laptop aside, his stomach was growling and his head was starting to hurt. He hated walking around with his glasses on, but he knew that taking them off would just make his headache worse.

It was just after two o’clock when he had a small stack of chocolate chip pancakes made - probably just too many for him to eat on his own. Nico plated a few of the pancakes and turned to take a seat at the table when he saw Will walking into the room, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Nico thought his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Will in a plain white undershirt and plaid pajama pants.

Nico cleared his throat and said, “Pancakes? I probably made enough for the both of us.”

This time when Will smiled at him, it was full-force. “Thanks.”

Once the two of them had their plates of pancakes with syrup, they sat down at the table across from each other.

“So, not that I mind you making me breakfast,” Will started as he cut into his pancakes, “but what are you still doing here? I would have thought you were going home after taking Bi to school.”

Nico shrugged, waiting to speak until after he’d swallowed his bite. “I was going to, but I left my backpack here. And then I figured that you might not wake up in time to pick Bi up, so I thought I’d hang around. I can...leave, if you want me to.” Nico felt his shoulders hunch up, shrinking in on himself as he waited for Will’s response.

But Will didn’t even seem to have heard him. He was staring down at his pancakes with wide eyes, and then looked up at Nico, practically awestruck. “Are these chocolate chip? They’re delicious!”

Nico felt himself relax, allowing a smile to creep onto his face. If this was how Will reacted to chocolate, Nico would have to bake more often.

Nico was starting to get a little stir-crazy, almost only leaving his apartment to go to Will’s and vice versa, or taking quick drives to Bianca’s school once or twice a day. He needed to do something that wasn’t sitting alone in a room with his laptop, and a simple trip to the grocery store didn’t seem like it would cut it.

Then, when he picked Bianca up from school, she wouldn’t stop talking about the movie that her friends had all scene. Instead of taking a left out of the school parking lot to go home, Nico turned right and drove them to the nearest movie theater. A two-hour movie should be a nice break for the both of them.

After the movie they stopped at the store so that Nico could pick up something for dinner - the surprise trip to the movies didn’t give him a chance to plan for a meal or set out out chicken to thaw. He bought an assortment of vegetables and a few unfrozen pieces of chicken, already picturing the stirfry he would make in his head.

He got to work on dinner as soon as they got home, and Bianca sat down at the table to work on her homework. It wasn’t long before Will walked through the door, and Bianca jumped out of her seat to hug him - she had a lot of pent-up energy after sitting all day.

“Hi, Daddy!” she exclaimed. “Nico took me to the movies today!”

“Really?” Will replied, hanging up his coat. “What movie did you see?”

Bianca bounced away from him, throwing her arms up enthusiastically as she announced, “Spiderman!”

Will gasped - Nico figured it was maybe half-genuine, half overdramatic for Bianca’s sake. “You saw Spiderman without me?” He took a single step toward her, which caused Bianca to squeal and run away into the living room. Nico watched with a smile as Will chased after her.

He went back to chopping up vegetables, listening to the pounding of footsteps throughout the house and the peels of laughter that sounded every few seconds. After a moment, Nico looked to his left to see Bianca in the hallway, peeking around the corner into the living room. Then he looked to the archway that connected the dining room to the living room and saw Will pressed up against the wall, grinning at Nico and pressing a finger to his lips. Nico caught himself smiling back for a second before ducking his head and returning to his chopping.

The next thing he knew, Will was gone and Bianca was running down the hall, straight towards him. She was giggling up a storm as she ran behind him and used him as a shield, forcing Nico to set the knife he was using down in caution.

As soon as Will stepped into the kitchen, Bianca exclaimed, “It was Nico’s idea!”

Nico’s eyes snapped up to meet Will’s. He had just a second to think before Will lunged at him. Nico stepped around Bianca and tried to turn the corner around the island, but his socks slipped on the tile floor, giving Will just enough time to catch up. He wrapped a hand around Nico’s wrist, pulling him close until they were nearly chest to chest. He grinned down at Nico victoriously before his expression dropped at the sight of Nico laughing out loud, and he stared down at him in awe.

Nico searched the room for Bianca, who had run to the other side of the kitchen. “She’s the one that chose the movie!” Nico said around his laughter, pointing toward Bianca.

Will couldn’t care less about the movie. With Nico so close, Will could finally make out the difference between the dark brown of Nico’s iris and the black of his pupil, and even little flecks of copper mixed in. He could feel the puffs of air from Nico’s laughter on his cheek. He could swoop down - maybe an inch, maybe two - and press his lips to Nico’s without a second thought. He wondered if Nico’s lips tasted sweeter than chocolate chip pancakes.

“Solace?” Nico said, just above a whisper, and Will dropped his wrist like it had burned him.

Will took a couple of steps back. “Um--”

“Daddy!” Bianca called, and Will’s attention snapped toward her. She giggled and took off toward the living room once more, and Will hurried after her, desperate to run away from whatever he had been thinking.

Nico stood frozen to the spot as he processed what had just happened. Had he imagined the look in Will’s eyes? Did Will want to kiss him just as much as Nico had wanted to do the same? How long would Nico be able to handle these untouched emotions between them before he snapped?

Bianca ran into the kitchen with a shoebox in her hands, shoving it into Will’s hands as soon as she saw him. “Daddy, can you cut a hole in the top of this like that?” She traced a finger across the lid, indicating where she wanted the hole.

“What’s this for, Bi?” Will asked, setting the box on the island.

“It’s Valentine’s Day!” Bianca told him. “I need a box to keep all my valentines in.”

Will opened one of the drawers in the island and pulled out a pair of scissors, using them to cut a slit in the box’s lid, just big enough to slide a piece of paper inside. “Are you going to decorate this?”

She nodded. “We’re gonna do that in class before we hand out valentines.”

Will frowned. “Do you have valentines to hand out?”

“Yeah, Nico bought them for me. They’re pink, and they have princesses on them!”

Will smiled, though it was a little sad. He was happy to see his daughter so excited, but he hated feeling like he was missing out on Bianca’s life. And...his own, in a way. Valentine’s Day was supposed to be spent with the person you love, but Will didn’t have anyone.

As if to remind Will of how single he was, Nico walked into the room, still enough to take Will’s breath away despite the fact that he had just rolled out of bed.

“Nico, can you make pancakes for breakfast?” Bianca asked when she saw him. “And can you make them heart-shaped for Valentine’s Day?”

Nico paused, looking like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, his cheeks growing pink as he said, “Is that today?” Bianca nodded. “Oh. Uh, Solace, are you sticking around for pancakes?”

Will checked the time and decided, “Yeah, I can stay a little while longer.” He started up a pot of coffee while Nico gathered ingredients for pancakes.

Bianca watched as Nico started making the batter. “Do you think I’m gonna have a Valentine?”

“You’ll get a card from everyone in your class,” Will answered as he pulled two mugs down from the cabinet.

“No, a Valentine,” she said again, though Will still didn’t seem to understand. “Nico, do you have a Valentine?”

“Nope,” he answered, moving to pour the batter into a pan on the stove.

“Will you be my Valentine?” Bianca asked, standing directly next to him as he tried to shape the batter into a heart.

“I would,” Nico started, grinning down at her, “but I think that would make Daddy jealous.”

Will flinched as he tried pouring coffee into the mugs, accidentally knocking one of the mugs over and spilling coffee onto the counter. He kept his head ducked as he cleaned up the mess to keep Nico from noticing the blush rising on his cheeks.

Bianca sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. You should be Daddy’s Valentine, Nico!”

His hand slipped as he tried to flip the pancake, tossing it out of the pan and forcing his fingers against the hot metal. He hissed as he pulled his hand back, biting his tongue to keep himself from swearing in pain.

Will was there in a second, gently taking Nico’s hand in his own to assess the damage. “Are you alright?” he asked, and Nico had to hold himself back from saying that he felt better already.

“I’m good,” Nico said instead, and stepped over to the sink to run his hand under cold water for a moment. After that, he went back to making pancakes, deciding to add chocolate chips to Will’s at the last second.

When Nico had taken Bianca out to buy valentine’s cards for her classmates, she’d brought up that Will’s birthday was about two weeks away, and the date had been stuck in Nico’s head ever since. Was he supposed to get something for Will? Would that be weird, especially since Will hadn’t been the one to share his birthday? What would Nico even get him, anyway?

He knew exactly what to get him, actually. He looked up a recipe one night when he was supposed to be working on his manuscript and gathered all of the necessary ingredients to bake a practice cake. He wasn’t about to give Will a cake that Nico hadn’t even tasted before.

Nico generally prided himself of his cooking and baking skills, but he would admit that this cake in particular was a test of his abilities. He felt the most overwhelmed, however, when both of his hands were occupied mixing two different things, and his phone started ringing across the kitchen.

“Hazel!” he called out, hoping that his sister was somewhere in the apartment where she would hear him.

“What?” she shouted back.

“Come answer my phone for me.”

He could practically hear the eye roll from across the apartment, but soon his phone stopped ringing, and Hazel was answering it with a, “Hey, Annabeth.”

“Put it on speaker for me,” Nico requested.

“Nico, I haven’t heard from you since the New Year’s party,” Annabeth said, voice distorted by the phone’s speaker. “I was expecting an update.”

“I didn’t get fired,” he said, struggling to add more ingredients to one of the mixing bowls while stirring them both constantly. Why hadn’t he brought out the electric mixer? “Was that all?”

“You’re not going to tell me what happened?” Annabeth pressed.

“I was here and I don’t even know what happened,” Hazel said.

Nico looked over his shoulder and glared at his sister. “If you’re just going to sit there, then make yourself useful and grab the electric mixer for me. And no, Annabeth, I have nothing else to say.”

“Hazel, what do you mean you were there? Did he show up at your place?” Annabeth asked.

“I invited him over,” Hazel answered. She dragged the big electric mixer out from one of the cabinets and brought it over to Nico, setting it on the counter and plugging it in. “And it’s a good thing I did, because I doubt Nico would have ever gotten out of bed if I hadn’t.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Sure, and all those cookies just magically appeared that morning.”

“You’ve been over there every day, then?” Annabeth asked, getting them back on track.

“Just about every day, yeah. Every day that Will has to work, at least,” Nico answered.

“So that means you were there on Valentine’s Day.” Nico could hear the smirk in her voice. “Does that mean you finally confessed your love for him?”

“No, I did not confess my love for him, because I’m not in love with him,” Nico told her, though as soon as he said the words, they felt like a lie. They weren’t even together, Nico couldn’t be in love with him.

“Then what’s with all the baking?” Hazel asked. “Are you going to make him a cake that says do you like me? Check yes or no on it?”

“I’m not a child, Hazel. I am making a cake, and yes, it’s for Will, but only because it’s his birthday next week and I just so happen to know that he likes chocolate.”

“Oh my god,” Annabeth said. “You know, normal people just ask people out, right?”

“I’m not trying to--”

“This is some kind of weird courting or something, isn’t it?” Hazel teased. “You’re trying to butter him up so that he’ll ask you out!”

“You’re absolutely right, Hazel,” Annabeth said. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself.”

“You’re even using a recipe! You never use recipes,” Hazel said. “That means this is something you’ve never made before! Oh my god, when the two of you get married, he’s going to get so fat from all of your baking.”

“We’re not getting married!” Nico nearly shouted. “We’re not even dating yet!” “Yet?” Annabeth repeated in a voice about two octaves higher than her habitual pitch.

“Oh my god, I was joking!” Hazel screeched. “You’re actually courting him!”

Abandoning his cake batter, Nico leaned his elbows against the counter and buried his face in his hands. “I hate both of you so much, oh my god.”

“Don’t lie, Nico,” Annabeth said. “You love us.”

“But you love Will more!” Hazel cried, almost knocking herself over with the force of her own laughter.

Nico left the kitchen, taking his phone with him and ending the call.

He hid in his room for about twenty minutes before venturing back out to finish up the cake. The consistency of the batter was essentially ruined after being neglected for so long, and it resulted in an oddly textured cake. However, it tasted better than Nico expected, so he bookmarked the recipe to use again later. Then, he went online to search for anything that might make the cake even better - nicer, more expensive chocolate, in particular.

Nico didn’t want to risk waiting until the last second to make Will’s birthday cake, just in case he wasn’t invited over on the actual day. So, three days before Will’s birthday, Nico brought over all the supplies he needed and had Bianca help him bake.

He’d timed everything perfectly: the batter was poured into the cake pan just before Will texted to let Nico know that he was on his way home, which meant that Nico would be taking the finished cake out of the oven just as Will was walking through the door.

The look on Will’s face when he saw the cake was priceless. It was like he was experiencing heaven on earth just from the sight and smell of so much chocolate. “What is that?” he asked in an awe-filled voice.

Nico tried to rein in his proud smile. “A chocolate lava cake.”

“But...why?”

“Bianca told me your birthday’s coming up,” Nico answered simply, shrugging.

As if she’d heard her name, Bianca came running into the room, immediately attaching herself to her father’s legs. “Happy birthday, Daddy! We made you a cake!”

“I see that,” Will replied, crouching down to give her a proper hug. “It looks delicious, thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead before straightening up.

“Nico did more than me, he gets a kiss, too!” Bianca insisted.

Will glanced toward Nico as if to ask permission - Nico was sure that his cheeks had developed a noticeable red tint, but he didn’t say no. Will stepped closer, set his hands on Nico’s arms just below his shoulders, and pressed a kiss into the hair that fell over Nico’s forehead. “Thank you, Nico,” he said softly, his smile appearing so much brighter at such a short distance, before stepping away.

With all of his focus on the cake, Nico hadn’t had time to whip up an equally impressive dinner, so he settled for spaghetti with broccoli instead. A short while after they had finished their dinner, the cake was served - after Nico had reheated it to make sure the lava was still melted, of course. The cake was eaten, paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and once they’d all finished their desserts, Bianca was sent off to get ready for bed. Nico was sure that so much chocolate wouldn’t help her to fall asleep, but he had other things to focus on for the time being.

Other things like the little smear of chocolate he could feel on his lower lip, Will standing beside him, and the dishes they were washing.

“You don’t have to do the dishes,” Will told him for probably the third time. “You cooked and baked, I can handle the dishes.”

Nico reached past him, brushing his arm against Will’s stomach as he did so, and grabbed a dish towel. “I’ll wash, you dry.”

Will huffed. “But--”

“You’re not washing dishes on your birthday, Solace,” Nico insisted, turning to face him fully, and tried not to smirk when he saw Will’s eye catch on the chocolate on his lip.

“It’s not...um--” His eyes flickered back up to Nico’s before sinking back to his lips. “You... There’s--” Will tapped his own lip.

“What?” Nico asked. “Is there something on my face?”

“You’ve got chocolate…” Will tried again.

Nico kept his eyes locked on Will’s as he swept his tongue along his lip, carefully avoiding the spot where he knew the chocolate was. “Did I get it?”

He could have sworn he heard Will whine. Will took a single step closer, raising his hand up. “Let me get it.” His fingers brushed against Nico’s cheek as his hand moved to cup Nico’s jaw, his thumb poised to wipe the chocolate away. Will’s eyes met Nico’s, flickering back and forth to his lips. Will seemed to be leaning in, almost unknowingly, and Nico let his own gaze drop to Will’s mouth for just a second, which seemed to be invitation enough for Will to finally push forward. He pressed his lips to Nico’s, his tongue swiping out to gather up the chocolate from Nico’s lip, and then relaxing into the kiss for just a second--

Will threw himself back, so quickly, so forcefully, that he backed straight into the counter, banging his head back against the cabinet behind him. “I’m sorry!” he exclaimed. One of his hands came up to rub at the back of his head while the other gripped the counter so hard that his knuckles turned white. “Shit, ow! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

Nico ducked his head to hide his smile before he realized that he didn’t need to. He looked up to meet Will’s gaze, smiling brightly up at him. “Will,” he said, and saw Will’s eyes widen at the sound of his first name. “Sunshine, you have nothing to be sorry for.” His lips felt like they were tingling from the kiss. Had he actually courted Will with a chocolate cake? He couldn’t let Hazel find out about this, he’d never hear the end of it.

“I-- I don’t know why I--”

“Maybe because you wanted to?” Nico offered. He stepped forward, planting his feet in between Will’s, and brought his hands up to frame Will’s face. It didn’t seem like Will was breathing, like he was holding his breath in anticipation for what Nico might say next. “I wanted you to, if that helps.”

“You did?” Will whispered.

“Only for the last… I dunno, three months?” Nico said, and couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping with his words. He was so happy, and this entire situation was so ridiculous.

“Three months?” Will repeated, and his entire body relaxed when he exhaled. His forehead dropped to rest against Nico’s, and he wrapped his arms loosely around Nico’s waist. “Try six.”

“We’ve only known each other for six months,” Nico pointed out.

“I know,” Will whined.

“We’re hopeless,” Nico said with another laugh. “I guess we have a lot of time to make up for, then. Can I kiss you?”

“I seriously thought you would never ask,” Will told him before tightening his hold on Nico’s waist and drawing him in for a kiss.

They stayed like that, pressed against each other until they were out of breath, and Will knocked his forehead gently against Nico’s to break the kiss.

“Stay?” he whispered.

Nico felt like his head was in a cloud, his thoughts foggy and still focused solely on the heat of Will’s hands on his waist, the feeling of Will’s lips moving against his own, the dizziness from a lack of air. “Huh?”

Will smiled, rolling his forehead against Nico’s so that their noses bumped into each other. “Will you stay here with me?”

“Tonight?” Nico asked. “Or, like, forever?”

“Either one is fine,” Will replied.

It shouldn’t have been so difficult to form a coherent thought, but his proximity to Will was intoxicating. “I can’t, tonight. I told Hazel I would be home.”

Will sighed, and Nico could see the disappointment in his eyes. “Alright. That means forever is still on the table though, right?”

Nico groaned and fell forward, hiding his face in the side of Will’s neck. Will laughed as he tightened his hold on Nico. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Nico had a hell of a time trying to pack up all of his baking supplies to take back to his apartment - it didn’t help that Will couldn’t seem to go five minutes without kissing him. He almost changed his mind about leaving when Will pressed him up against the door and kissed him within an inch of his life, but Nico managed to stand firm in his decision.

“I’ll be back soon, Will,” Nico reminded him.

“You should come back in, like, an hour,” Will said before pressing their lips together once again.

Nico pushed him back gently and held him at an arm’s length, smiling as he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Will pouted. “Alright, fine, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Nico opened the door and took his baking supplies outside with him, starting out toward his car. “Text me when you get home!” Will called after him.

“Goodnight, Will,” Nico called back.

He pulled out of the driveway and saw that Will didn’t close the front door until Nico had started to drive away.

Nico couldn’t stop smiling the entire drive back home, even as he lugged his baking supplies up the stairs and into his apartment. It didn’t even falter even as Hazel said, “What’s got you all smiley?”

He ignored her as he took the baking supplies into the kitchen, dropping them off on the counter and shooting a quick I’m home text to Will before rejoining his sister in the living room. He sat down on the couch beside her, and Hazel paused the show she’d been watching. “No, seriously. You’re starting to creep me out, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile this much.” Nico opened his mouth, about to respond, but Hazel beat him to it. “Oh! It’s about Will, isn’t it? The courting’s going well, I take it?”

“I’m not courting him,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes. His cheeks were starting to hurt - maybe if he smiled more often it wouldn’t hurt so much.

“Oh my god, just tell me, please,” Hazel begged.

“He kissed me.”

Hazel gasped.

“And then he apologized a few times,” Nico continued. “And then he kissed me a bunch more times.”

“Oh my god, you actually courted him. Your courting actually worked!”

Nico ducked his head. “Yeah, I guess it did--” His head snapped up as he realized what he was saying, his smile finally falling away in favor of an embarrassed blush. “Uh, I mean--”

“You admitted it!” Hazel screeched. “Oh my god, what are you even doing here?”

Nico frowned. “I live here.”

“You two admitted your love for each other--”

“We did not, we just kissed, there were no declarations of love!”

“--and you came back here instead of spending the night with him? Why on earth would you come back?”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get at,” Nico said, his blush now at full force and his gaze averted. When Hazel didn’t say anything, Nico glanced up to see that she was giving him a look. An I know you know, just say it already and get it over with look. Nico sighed and started down at his hands in his lap. “I didn’t want you to think the cake got me laid.”

“Would it have?” she asked without a second of hesitation.

“Hazel!”

“Would it have?”

Nico crossed his arms and slouched back against the couch, looking like a mirror image of his fifteen-year-old self. “Maybe.”

“He asked you to stay over, didn’t he?”

Nico’s shoulders hunched up self-consciously. “Maybe.”

“Oh my god, what’s the matter with you?” Hazel shouted, grabbing a pillow from beside herself and whacking Nico in the chest with it. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

“He just asked me to stay over!” Nico shouted back as he tried to rip the pillow out of her hands. “He… He asked if me staying forever was on the table.”

“Oh my god!” she screeched, almost at a frequency that only dogs could hear. “Pack a bag, I’m kicking you out. You live with Will now.”

“Hazel--”

“Why do you always have to be so difficult? If that happened between me and Frank, you know I would have told you everything without even being asked!” She gasped. “Oh, Frank would love to hear about this, I’m calling him right now.”

“Hazel, no--”

“You’re right, he’s probably sleeping, or training, or...whatever they do at West Point. I’ll call Annabeth instead.”

“Don’t you dare--”

“It’s already ringing!”

FROM: Will; I don’t want to go to sleep. I feel like I’ll wake up in the morning and this whole day will have been a dream.

TO: Will; when i kiss you tomorrow, youll know it wasnt a dream. go to sleep, sunshine.

Will called Nico the next day during his lunch break as he made his way to Lou Ellen’s room. She hadn’t been there for about the last month, but she had a follow-up surgery scheduled for later that day. She couldn’t eat lunch with him, but Will figured she would enjoy the update.

Nico picked up the phone and said in his adorably sleepy voice, “Good morning, Sunshine.”

Will couldn’t keep the bright smile off his face. “Actually, it’s about twelve-thirty.”

“Mhm,” Nico replied. “What’s up, babe?”

Will’s pulse skyrocketed. He had to take a few deep breaths before he said, “Um. I, uh. Can you pick Bianca up from school?”

“Of course. Was that all you wanted?”

“I can’t wait to see you later,” Will said in a voice close to a whisper, like he didn’t want anyone to overhear.

“Me too,” Nico said. “Get back to work, Will.”

“Okay, sure.”

Will felt like his face was on fire as he walked into Lou’s room.

“Hey, Solace, what’s with the sunburn?” Lou asked immediately upon seeing him.

Will took a seat in his usual chair, popping open the salad he’d bought in the cafeteria as he internally debated whether he should try to play it cool or not. He knew his composure wouldn’t last. “I kissed Nico last night.”

“Oh! No shit?” Lou Ellen said. “That’s wild, man, nice job.”

Will frowned with a bite of salad halfway to his mouth. “Why are you talking like that?”

Lou shrugged. “I dunno, thought I’d try it out. Not good?”

“Not good.”

She hummed. “Alright, let me take that again. Set me up.”

“Um. I, uh, I kissed Nico last night?”

“Oh my god!” Lou shrieked, startling Will so much that he nearly dropped his salad. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you! You have to tell me everything!” Will winced, and Lou said in her normal voice, “That one felt too far on the other end of the spectrum. Why don’t you talk, since you’re the one with stuff to share.”

“What’s the matter with you? Did you hit your head since the last time I saw you?”

“No, I’m just super bored. I can’t go anywhere, I can’t even eat anything. This is the most entertainment I’ve had all day. So, what? You’ve been bright red since you kissed Nico last night? Get talking.”

Will shook his head. “No, I just called him. He called me babe. I thought my heart was going to explode.”

“You’ll be dead by the end of this week, if you keep that up,” Lou told him.

“Hopefully I’ll get used to it,” Will replied offhandedly, and then seemed to realize what he said, and beamed. “Could you imagine? I might get used to him calling me babe!”

Lou rolled her eyes tipped her head back to rest against her pillows, flinging an arm over her eyes dramatically. “Never mind, this conversation has bored me. I need new entertainment.”

Will paused. “Seriously, are you taking acting classes or something? What’s going on here?”

When Will got home that night, Nico greeted him in the kitchen with a kiss. Will thought he might melt, but his heart nearly stopped when Nico said, “I have a concern.”

“What is it?” Will asked cautiously.

Nico bit his lip and started fiddling with a ring around one of his fingers - he’d started wearing it after the start of the new year, and Will wondered if it had been a Christmas present. “How are we going to break this to Bianca?”

Will’s heart restarted as he felt all of the tension flood out of his muscles. “Oh! You had me worried for a second there, Darling.” The nickname had slipped out unintentionally, but Will grinned at the blush that developed on Nico’s cheeks. “I’ll take care of that.” He pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek before stepping around him and heading into the living room.

Nico had left Bianca watching TV on the couch, so Will walked up to her and asked, “Bi, can I pause the TV for a second?” When Bianca nodded, Will paused her show and sat down on the coffee table in front of her. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“You have secrets?” Bianca asked, eyes widening in surprise.

“Just one. You know how someone in your class might have a crush on someone else?”

She nodded. “Mary told me she has a crush on Jimmy because he shared his french fries with her once.”

Will smiled. “Well, my secret is that I have a crush on Nico.” He looked up and met Nico’s eyes from where he was leaning against the archway leading into the living room.

“You do?” Bianca asked.

“Yep. And I think Nico has a crush on me, too. I wanted to tell you before I told Nico so that you won’t get grossed out when we start doing grown-up stuff.”

“What kind of grown-up stuff?”

Will shrugged. “You know, like, hugging and kissing.”

“Gross!” Bianca said and scrunched up her nose. Then she said, “But...I hug people too, and I’m not a grown-up.”

“That’s because you’re very mature for a six-year-old,” Will told her. “But that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to kiss people, alright? No kissing until you’re an adult in the eyes of the law.”

Although she clearly didn’t understand what Will meant, Bianca said, “Okay Daddy.”

“Great!” Will said, and rose to his feet. “You can go back to your show now, and I’m gonna go tell Nico that I like him.”

He walked around the couch and back towards a pleasantly surprised Nico, who pulled Will back into the kitchen with him. “That went a lot better than I was expecting it would go.”

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Will told him, darting forward for a quick kiss. “Now, can I help you with dinner? Or set the table?”

“Oh, uh, I put a casserole in the oven. It should be done in, like, twenty minutes.”

Will beamed down at him. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Why? Just because I’m making dinner?” Nico asked with a laugh.

“No, you just are.”

Each night since their first kiss, Nico went home just as Will was starting to get tired. Will always asked him to stay, but Nico kept turning him down by saying, “It’s not your birthday yet.” Not because he had anything planned, but because he had nothing planned. How was he supposed to know that baking Will a cake would be enough to get them together? And how could he throw something together in three days that could top that?

It was the night before Will’s twenty-ninth birthday, and the three of them had ended the day with a couple of movies. At the end of the first, Bianca was sent off to bed by Will as Nico refilled the popcorn bowl, and soon the two were meeting back on the couch for a less kid-friendly movie - hopefully something that would keep their interest a little better.

Nico was curled up against Will’s side, one of Will’s arms wrapped around him, the popcorn bowl resting somewhere between their laps. Nico could feel as Will started to fall asleep beside him when they were only about halfway through the movie, so he straightened up from his slouch and watched as Will’s eyes blinked open. Nico reached up, brushing his fingers against Will’s jaw and turning his head until Will was facing him. He was clearly fighting to keep his eyes open.

“You’re falling asleep,” Nico told him.

“No, I’m not,” Will argued.

“Will--”

“I’m not falling asleep,” Will insisted, even as his eyes slid shut. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Nico’s. “I don’t wanna fall asleep, because if I do, then you’ll leave. I don’t want you to leave.”

Nico nearly melted at his words. He sighed, his fingers starting to stroke along Will’s jawline. “Well, it’s still not your birthday yet, but I guess I can stay over tonight.”

Will’s eyes cracked open as his lips curved into a smile. “Really?” He slumped against Nico with a sigh, relaxing fully against him. “Thank god, I’m so tired.”

Nico tried to shove Will’s weight off of him, but Will had gone completely limp. “Well I’m not sleeping on this couch ever again, so you had better get up and lead the way, Sunshine.”

Will huffed before sitting back up, slowly making his way to a standing position and stretching his arms over his head. Nico shut the TV off before getting up and walking around Will toward the bathroom to brush his teeth, Will joining him a moment later.

After they’d brushed their teeth, Will grabbed Nico’s hand and intertwined their fingers, pulling him towards Will’s bedroom. As soon as Nico stepped over the threshold, he froze. He’d never made it a habit to spend the night with the guys he’d been seeing, and he’d certainly never slept over after a one night stand. What if Will snored, and it kept Nico awake all night? What if Nico was too clingy in his sleep, and it pissed Will off? Were they jumping into bed together too soon? He knew that phrase meant sex and not sleeping, which was all they would be doing, but did it still apply?

“Nico?” Will was already pulling back the comforter and getting ready to crawl into bed when he looked up and saw that Nico hadn’t moved.

“I don’t have any pajamas,” Nico blurted, like that would be a good enough excuse to not spend the night.

Will pointed toward the dresser beside Nico. “You can borrow some sweatpants, third drawer down.”

Nico moved slowly, hoping to keep his anxiety from being on full display, and he grabbed a pair of sweatpants at random. He turned back around and saw Will sitting up on the bed, looking at him with something between a frown and a pout.

“Are you alright?” Will asked. “Do you...not want to sleep over?”

“I do,” Nico answered immediately. “I just… I’m...nervous, I guess.”

Will appeared to relax. “I’m sure if I weren’t so tired, I’d be just as nervous. Why don’t you go change, and when you come back, we can just lay here and talk until we fall asleep?”

Nico nodded and turned to leave, jumping back into the bathroom to change before returning to Will’s room in less than a minute. He slipped into bed beside Will, who immediately wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist and pulled him in for a kiss. In a second, all of Nico’s worries left him, and he relaxed into Will’s hold, throwing an arm over Will’s shoulders as Will tucked his head under Nico’s chin.

“What d’you wanna talk about?” Will asked, his voice taking on a Southern twang in his tired state.

“Nothing,” Nico answered. “I’m okay now. Goodnight, Sunshine.”

“G’night, Darlin’,” Will replied, and in seconds his breathing had evened out as he fell asleep.

Nico surprised himself by waking up before Will, but he was glad to have the chance to see Will’s sleeping form beside him. With the sunlight beaming in through a crack in the curtains, shining directly over Will and into Nico’s eyes - that’s probably what woke him up, actually.

Nico reached up to run his fingers through Will’s glowing, golden curls, and Will leaned into the touch like a cat. His eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times before he registered Nico in front of him and grinned.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Nico whispered, and Will pressed forward for a kiss.

“I love it when you call me Sunshine,” Will told him.

“I thought you might. Happy birthday, Sunshine.”

Will captured Nico’s lips in another kiss, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him as close as he possibly could. “Best birthday ever,” Will mumbled against Nico’s lips.

“We just woke up,” Nico pointed out.

“I know,” Will said, reaching out for one more kiss. “I could get used to waking up like this.”

“I couldn’t,” Nico said, and Will leaned back from him with an affronted look. Nico followed after him, curling up against his chest, and said, “It’s way too early. Let’s go back to sleep for a couple more hours, and then maybe I could get used to it.”

Will huffed, wrapping an arm around Nico’s back, and smoothed his hand up and down Nico’s spine. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Oh yeah?” Nico asked. “And why’s that?”

“I might’ve had to break up with you for a trick like that.”

Nico peeked up at him. “So there’s something here to break up?”

Will hesitated. “If that’s okay with you?”

Nico smiled and relaxed back into Will’s chest with a contented sigh. “Of course it is.”

Will soon learned that he loved to listen to Nico talk. It didn’t matter what it was about - Will could still listen for hours. He also realized early on that he couldn’t stand too close in order to protect himself from Nico’s flying hands, so he tended to watch and listen from just out of arm’s reach as Nico shared stories about his friends or ideas for his writing assignments.

He was leaning against he island as he watched Nico cook - he was forbidden from helping after burning the chicken Nico had left him to look over about a week before - and had gotten lost in Nico’s melodic voice and fluid movements through the kitchen. Will was pretty sure that Nico was telling a story about his cousin Jason’s terrible cooking, but Will would admit that he’d zoned out for a moment, just letting Nico’s voice wash over him.

He was brought back to the present when Nico said, “Babe, can you get the paprika for me?”

Will walked over to the cabinet and took out the paprika. He set it in Nico’s awaiting hand as he pressed a kiss to Nico’s cheek, and then stepped away before Nico could restart his dangerous gesticulations.

“Grazie,” Nico said. “Ora, dov’ero?”

“Huh?” Will said, figuring he just hadn’t heard Nico correctly.

Nico glanced at him over his shoulder with a smile and spoke again, though it was just as incomprehensible as the last thing Will heard. He frowned, and Nico rolled his eyes.

He stepped away from the stove for a second, walking up to the island and reaching over to grab one of Will’s hands. Nico pressed a kiss to Will’s knuckles and said, “Il mio sole, tesoro--”

“I have no idea what you’re saying,” Will cut in, and Nico’s smile fell away, replaced by a forceful blush and look of embarrassment.

Nico returned to his cooking. “Um. Sorry, I didn’t mean to-- I meant to say--”

“No, wait,” Will said, stepping around the island and stopping at Nico’s side. He set a gentle hand on the small of Nico’s back. “What were you saying? Was that Spanish or something, because it definitely wasn’t English.”

“Italian,” Nico replied, though he kept his head ducked and his eyes trained on the food he was cooking. “I, uh. I was born in Italy. English is my second language.”

“Oh, wow. That’s--”

“Embarrassing, I know.”

“--really hot.”

Nico’s head snapped up. “What?”

Will grinned. “I said I think that’s really hot. The speaking Italian part, not necessarily the living in Italy part, not that that’s not cool--”

“You don’t think it’s embarrassing?” Nico whispered, peeking up at Will, and then blurted, “I speak French and Spanish, too. Not fluently, but they’re close enough to Italian that I picked it up pretty easily.”

Will’s cocky grin fell away to a look of genuine surprise. “That’s amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that speaks more than two languages, and now I’m… I’m seeing someone who speaks four!”

“Boyfriend,” Nico mumbled, causing Will to lean in with a hum. Nico hesitated before saying louder, “Your boyfriend speaks four languages.”

Will felt his entire body heat up at Nico’s words as a bright, beaming smile bloomed on his face. He moved to stand behind Nico, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing a kiss to his cheek before he set his chin on Nico’s shoulder. “Oh? Boyfriend, huh?”

Nico tensed in his arms. “Yeah. That’s what we are, right? Boyfriends?”

“I’d love that,” Will whispered into the side of Nico’s neck. He felt Nico relax and return to his cooking, but Will didn’t let him go. “I have a boyfriend who speaks four languages. Wait, what were you saying earlier?”

“Hmm?” Will could see color rising on Nico’s neck and up to his cheek.

“You were speaking Italian, don’t tell me you forgot already,” Will teased. “You said something like, my soul, and...Tesla?”

Nico snorted, and turned in Will’s arms to face him as he spoke. “I said, il mio sol, tesoro. My sun, and my darling.”

“Aw, babe, you’re cheesy in Italian.”

“What, you can call me darling in your first language, but I can’t call you darling in mine?” Nico asked with a huff. “Darling is only the… the implication of the translation! The direct translation is closer to treasure, anyway!”

Will dipped down to press his forehead to Nico’s. “You think I’m your treasure?”

“I--” Nico couldn’t meet Will’s eyes. “I guess.”

Will pressed forward for a kiss, reaching one hand up to brush a delicate thumb across Nico’s cheek. “That’s adorable,” Will said. “And you’re very cute when you’re angry.”

Nico rolled his eyes and turned back toward the stove. “Whatever.”

“You’re my treasure, too,” Will told him before pressing a kiss to his cheek, then stepped back to lean against the counter once more in preparation for an encore of Nico’s wildly gesticulated stories.

Nico had no idea what was supposed to happen at a parent-teacher conference. Will had asked him to take Bianca up to the school and promised to meet them there, but by the time they’d arrived at the school, Nico still hadn’t gotten a text from Will saying that he’d left the hospital.

Bianca led Nico toward her classroom, stopping at a check-in table at the start of the first grade hallway. Bianca greeted the woman at the table.

“Hello, Bianca,” the woman replied, and then smiled up at Nico. “And you must be Doctor Solace! It’s great to finally meet you.” She marked something on a sheet in front of her, probably checking them in.

“Oh, uh, no, I’m not--” Nico stuttered, and cleared his throat before trying again. “He’s supposed to meet us here, but he hasn’t gotten off work yet.”

“Sorry, you must be his husband, then! I’m Bianca’s art teacher, and last week she made this adorable drawing of the three of you. Congratulations on your wedding, by the way!”

“Um. Thank you,” Nico said quickly, and led Bianca past the table. Once they were a considerable distance down the hall, Nico crouched down in front of her and asked, “Bianca, did you tell people that me and your dad are married?”

“Yes,” Bianca replied.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you are married.”

Nico sighed. “No, Princess, we’re not.”

She frowned. “But… You kiss like married people do.”

“Bi--” Nico bit his lip in thought. “You know what? Your dad is way better at explaining stuff than I am, so let’s talk about this with him, okay?”

Bianca nodded. “Okay.”

Nico stood back up. “Cool. Now, which classroom is yours?”

They walked a little ways down the hall until Bianca pointed out her classroom where groups of parents and children were clustered around the closed door. It looked like Will would have plenty of time to get there.

Nico took a seat on the floor on the wall opposite the door, and Bianca sat down beside him. After about a minute, Nico pulled out his phone, checking the time and for any possible missed texts. Nothing, yet Will should have gotten out of work at least twenty minutes ago.

“Is Daddy gonna be here?” Bianca asked.

“I’m sure he will,” Nico replied, though he wasn’t so sure himself.

It was then that the classroom door swung open, and a couple emerged with their son, followed by Bianca’s teacher who pulled another family into the room. Both parents glanced at Nico and shared a look of disgust before the mother led their son away quickly. The dad hung behind and said, “Are you even old enough to have a first grader?”

“Biologically, yeah,” Nico said, unfazed. “Oh, you must’ve been a late bloomer, huh? Better hope that’s not genetic.”

The man practically snarled down at him. “How dare--”

“Also,” Nico cut in, tipping his head toward Bianca, “biologically, not mine. Thanks, though, not that I asked or care what you have to say.”

The man seemed at a loss for words, so angry that all he could do was stomp away with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Nico grinned as he watched the man leave, and as he was staring down the hall, Nico saw a familiar blond walk up to the check-in table. He nudged Bianca gently with his elbow and said, “Hey, Bi, look who’s over there.”

Bianca looked over and immediately jumped to her feet with a cry of, “Daddy!” as she ran down the hall to meet him.

Will caught Bianca and swung her off her feet in a hug, carrying her back down the hall. Bianca reclaimed her seat at Nico’s side as Will sat down on his other side, wrapping an arm around Nico’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Why did that lady tell me that my husband was waiting for me?” Will whispered.

Nico leaned in to Will’s touch. “Bianca thinks we’re married.”

Will paused, as if waiting for Nico to say something else. “And? You told her we’re not, right?”

“Of course I did,” Nico said. “I don’t think she got it, though.”

Will smiled teasingly. “I don’t think it should be that hard to explain.”

“After you.”

Will leaned forward to look around him, his mouth opening like he was about to speak, when suddenly a voice in front of them said, “Ugh, disgusting homos.”

Nico looked up to see the woman that had flirted with him during career day - Jessica’s mom, he was pretty sure.

“Oh, I’m not gay,” Will said to her with his usual bright smile.

“I am,” Nico said, sinking further into Will’s side. “But you know what they say when you assume.”

The woman scoffed, leading Jessica away quickly as Nico and Will fell into a fit of giggles.

“Doctor Solace,” Mrs. Johnson said, suddenly appearing in front of them. “I’m glad you could make it tonight, I know Bianca was anxious about it. Please, come with me.”

Will stood up off the floor as Bianca did the same, but Nico didn’t move.

Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow at him. “You too, Nico.”

Will grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, and the four of them walked into the classroom. Mrs. Johnson sat behind her desk while the others sat in a row of chairs opposite her.

“So, um,” Will started, “how is Bianca doing?”

“She seems to be progressing well, on the same track as her classmates,” Mrs. Johnson responded. “Especially compared to the records I have from her kindergarten class in Nashville.”

“That’s great!” Will exclaimed, beaming down at his daughter.

“I do have one concern, however,” Mrs. Johnson continued, and Will glanced back up with a frown. She reached into her desk and pulled out a large sheet of paper, then set it on the desk for them to see. Nico leaned closer to get a better look at it: a finger painting of three stick figures, one short and two tall, with the words Daddy and Nico got married!!! at the top.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” Mrs. Johnson said, “but I must say, from what I’ve heard from Bianca, the two of you did get married awfully fast. Not that that’s any of my business, of course, but I do have Bianca’s best interest in mind.”

“No no no,” Will said quickly, “we’re just dating! We… We just started dating!”

Mrs. Johnson raised an eyebrow. “Well, I hope you know that Bianca would benefit from two steady parents. What she doesn’t need is for the two of you to break up in a month or two and upset her entire world.”

“We have yet to go on a single date,” Nico commented, “but thank you. We’ll keep that in mind.”

Mrs. Johnson nodded. “Wonderful. Now, unless you have any questions for me, you three are free to go.”

Will had a late shift that didn’t allow him to get home until almost midnight, yet when he was walking down the hall toward his bedroom, a light in the living room caught his eye. Nico was sitting on the couch, his face glowing in the light of his laptop. In the amount of time that Will stood watching him, Nico pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose twice.

Will walked over to him, resting his forearms on the back of the couch beside Nico’s shoulder, and peeked at the screen. There were large blocks of texts with a lot of red lines that marked misspellings.

Nico glanced up over his shoulder and grinned at Will, stretching up for a kiss.

Will complied. “What’re you still doing up?”

“I was waiting for you,” Nico replied, shutting his laptop and standing up to stretch his arms over his head. “Did on some homework while I was waiting.”

Will walked around the couch until he and Nico were toe to toe. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

Nico set his hands on Will’s hips to balance himself as he rose onto his tiptoes for another kiss. “Maybe I wanted to. Besides, I feel like you’re never here anymore.”

“Funny you should mention that,” Will said. “I asked for Friday off. I was kind of hoping you might like to, maybe, go out with me?”

“Are you asking me on a date, Sunshine?” Nico teased.

Will cocked his head to the side. “Nah, I just thought we could hang out. Maybe invite a few more dudes, have a guy’s night.”

“Are you--”

“No, I’m not serious, Nico,” Will laughed. “I want to… I want to go out to a fancy restaurant with you and have a nice dinner. We’ll do something cheesy, like share a dessert after dinner, or take a walk through some park. Maybe come back here to watch a movie and try not to fall asleep on the couch.”

Nico’s smile turned soft. “Who knew you were such a romantic.”

“Is that a yes?” Will asked. “Seriously, I need to know so I can find a babysitter for Bianca.”

Nico’s eyes widened in surprise. “A babysitter?”

“You didn’t expect me to bring my daughter on our first date, did you?”

“I dunno, I guess I just assumed…” Nico replied. “I could ask Hazel, probably. I bet I could convince her to watch Bianca overnight. You know, if you’re, uh, interested in having the place to ourselves?”

Nico was sure he saw Will’s cheeks turn pink. “Oh! Uh, yeah, yes, I’m interested.”

Nico snorted. “Alright, I’ll ask Hazel in the morning. In the meantime, where did you have in mind for dinner?”

“I mean, I didn’t really think that far. I was thinking someplace pretty fancy, but since we don’t have a reservation we might not have very much luck with that. I haven’t really had the time to look around the city, either, so--”

“So, I’ll take care of the restaurant,” Nico cut in.

Will frowned. “No, wait! This is my idea, you can’t steal it!”

“You can take the credit and I’ll pick the place. You’re going to want to bring out your nicest clothes.”

“You don’t even know where we’re going yet.”

“I have idea.” Nico pulled himself away from Will and started toward the bedroom. “I’m gonna head to bed. You coming?”

Hazel had agreed to watch Bianca overnight, and Will had made sure that Bianca was comfortable with staying the night with Hazel. He packed an overnight bag for her - which included a printed copy of her allergy list - and then got dressed for his date. He still wasn’t sure where they were going, but Nico had insisted that Will wear a suit and pick Nico up at his apartment to make it a real date.

When Will and Bianca arrived at Nico and Hazel’s apartment, Nico opened the door looking absolutely stunning. His suit was a rich black, well-fitted with a gray shirt and silver tie, his hair styled for once instead of its usual messiness. Will couldn’t stop himself from leaning in for a kiss immediately after taking in the sight, but Nico stopped him with a hand on his chest and a, “Woah, at least buy me dinner first.”

Will pouted but Nico winked back to let him know he wasn’t serious, and then Nico led Bianca into the apartment. Bianca would be sleeping in Nico’s room that night, so that’s where Nico left her bag. They came back out into the living room to see that Will was insisting that Hazel put his number in her phone and to call if anything happened. Nico had to practically drag Will out the door after they both said goodbye to Bianca.

Nico still refused to tell Will exactly where they were going even as Will drove them to the restaurant, finally pulling up to the valet for what had to be one of the finest restaurants in the city. As they walked inside, Nico stepped right past the waiting couples to the maitre d’ and said, “Nico di Angelo. I believe Chiara set a table for me in the back.”

“Of course, Mr. di Angelo. Right this way,” she said with a smile, and Nico waited until Will grabbed his hand before they started through the restaurant.

The place was completely packed, which made Will wonder how Nico had ever gotten a reservation, let alone with only two days’ notice. They were led all the way through the crowded main room and into a separate, smaller room with fewer scattered tables. They sat down across from each other at one of the tables as menus were set down in front of them and the candles between them were lit.

“This is…” Will started, glancing around the room. “How did you…?”

Nico reached across the table and took Will’s hand, stroking his thumb across Will’s knuckles. “I know the owner.” He offered a half-shrug. “We went to summer camp together.”

Will cracked a smile. “Of course you did.”

He opened up his menu, and the conversation hit a lull. What were they supposed to talk about? It was their first date, technically, but they already knew so much about each other - definitely everything that would normally be covered on a first date. He didn’t want to talk about work or Bianca, and he wasn’t so sure that he should ask about Nico’s classes. What was Will supposed to say to get to know more about Nico? He needed to think of something before this awkward silence stretched on too long.

Will cleared his throat. “The last time I went on a date, we went to see a movie. She was texting the entire time, and I peeked at her phone to see that she was flirting with somebody who had like, every heart emoji attached to his name.”

Nico snorted. “I went on a date with this guy once who complained about his ex all through dinner, and then snuck off to the bathroom right before the bill got dropped off. He never came back.”

“That’s terrible!” Will said as he tried to hide a laugh. “Hang on, I’m sure I can think of another one.”

As the two continued to share terrible date stories back and forth, laughing at each other’s misfortune, Nico ran the toe of his shoe up and down Will’s leg under the table. Will traced his fingers along the lines of Nico’s palm while they waited for their dinner to be brought to them. They split a slice of cheesecake for dessert and left the restaurant with linked hands and matching smiles.

They drove back to Will’s house afterwards. Will didn’t think he’d ever seen Nico smile for so long, and wanted to do whatever possible to keep him smiling for as long as he could. It wasn’t until they’d walked into the kitchen that Nico finally pulled him in for a kiss, and Will felt like he might melt under the touch. It hadn’t even been a full day since they last kissed, yet it had been far too long.

“So,” Nico whispered, drawing out the word. “We have the house all to ourselves. Whatever should we do?”

Will hummed. “I suppose we could watch a movie and see where things go from there.”

Nico threaded his fingers into Will’s hair. “Or we could skip the movie and head straight to the bedroom.”

Will wound his arms around Nico’s waist and pulled him close. “I like your idea better.”

With Nico’s free hand, he tugged on Will’s tie, both to loosen it and to draw Will close enough to kiss. He dropped Will’s somewhere on the floor before he started shoving at Will’s coat. They started stumbling down the hall toward Will’s bedroom, losing Nico’s coat somewhere along the way. Nico slid Will’s shirt of off him before giving him a light push toward the bed. Nico dropped his own pants before he climbed onto Will’s lap, straddling his hips as he laid Will down against the pillows.

As Nico started to trail kisses down Will’s neck, Will gasped out, “I, uh-- I haven’t done this in a while. I might be rusty.”

Nico brought his hands up to Will’s jaw, stroking his thumbs across Will’s cheeks. “It’s been a while for me, too. Don’t worry about it, Sunshine.”

Will’s fingers were slowly working on unbuttoning Nico’s shirt. “How long?”

“Hmm?”

“How long has it been? For you?”

Nico bit his lip in thought, and Will had the sudden desire to have Nico’s teeth on him. “Almost a year, I think,” Nico said finally, almost sounding embarrassed.

“Oh.” Will’s hands froze on the last button.

“What?” Nico asked, brow furrowing in concern. “How long has it been for you?”

Will couldn’t make himself look Nico in the eyes. “Since...Bianca.”

“Oh.” Nico pressed a soft kiss to Will’s lips before sliding his hands down Will’s chest, slipping his fingers underneath the waist of Will’s pants, thumbing at the button holding them shut. “We’ll just have to make up for lost time then, huh?”

When Will finally looked back up, Nico was smirking down at him.

For the first time, Will thought he was falling in love.

Will woke up one morning - a Sunday morning, where he should’ve been able to get at least another hour of sleep - to the feeling of his mattress shaking and cries of, “Daddy, Nico, I know what I want for my birthday!”

Will cracked his eyes open just in time to see Nico sitting up and pulling Bianca down into his lap. “Don’t jump on the bed, Bi, you could break it,” Nico told her softly.

Bianca gazed up at him with a frown. “But I’ve heard you and Daddy jumping on the bed before.”

Nico’s eyes widened, face burning bright red, and Will tried to hide his smile in his pillow. Nico opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again so quickly that Will heard his teeth click.

Will sat up, lifting Bianca off of Nico’s lap and setting her between them. “Nobody’s gonna be jumping on the beds anymore, okay?” Will said. “Now, what is it that you want for you birthday?”

“Earrings!” she cried.

Will frowned. “Bi, if you wanna wear earrings then you gotta get little holes poked in your ears.”

“My friend Zoe has earrings,” Bianca told him with a pout. “I want earrings, too!”

Will glanced up at Nico, who was now significantly less red than before. “I’m not even sure I know where you can get your ears pierced.”

“I do,” Nico said, and quickly followed it with, “Your birthday’s not for another week, though, Princess. How about we do it on your actual birthday, not right now.”

“Okay,” she agreed with a nod. “Will you make breakfast soon, Nico?”

“Sure,” he said. “What do you want? Pancakes?”

“Yeah!”

“Why don’t you start pulling the ingredients out, and I’ll be out there in just a minute.”

“Okay,” Bianca said, and climbed over Nico’s lap to get out of bed.

As soon as she was out of the room, Nico held his head in his hands and groaned loudly. “Oh my god, I’m so embarrassed.”

Will wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him close. “It’s not like she knew what we were really doing, babe, she’s six.”

“I don’t care,” he moaned.

Will laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of Nico’s head. “How do you know where to get ears pierced, anyway?”

“No reason,” Nico muttered after a short pause.

“Oh my god,” Will started, cupping Nico’s cheek and turning his head to face him. “You had your ears pierced, didn’t you?”

Nico’s cheeks grew pink again. “Maybe.”

“You did!”

“Fine, yes, I did,” Nico told him, rolling his eyes. “But the holes closed up a few years ago.”

Will pulled him in for a kiss. “That’s a shame, you know? I bet you’d look really hot with earrings.”

Nico ducked his head and shoved at Will’s chest just enough for his boyfriend to release his hold. “I have pancakes to make.”

Sometimes, Will hated his job. Only sometimes, but when those few times came around, he really hated it. Like when he was scheduled to work on Halloween, or when he couldn’t go to Career Day at Bianca’s school. Or when he specifically asked for a certain day off, but somebody called in sick and Will was the only person that could take over for them.

Those were the days that Will’s job sucked the most.

When he told Bianca, she started crying.

“But it’s my birthday, Daddy!” Bianca pleaded. “You can’t go to work today, you have to come with us!”

“I wish I could, Bi,” Will told her gently, “But I have to go help people. I promise, I’ll meet you somewhere for dinner or something, okay? And maybe you can invite one of your friends to go with you. That sounds like fun, right?”

“I want you to go with us!” Bianca shouted before turning around and running out of the room. Will froze where he was, kneeling on the ground, and flinched when he heard Bianca’s bedroom door slam shut.

Will rose slowly, head hanging, and went to finish getting ready for work. Nico stopped him in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and tucking his head under his chin.

“I love my job.” Will’s voice sounded hollow, like he wasn’t even trying to convince himself anymore.

Nico tipped his head up so that Will could rest his forehead against his. “You’re allowed to hate it sometimes. Now’s a pretty good time to hate it.”

“Why today?” Will complained, twisting his fingers in Nico’s belt loops just so that his arms weren’t hanging limp. “Why not yesterday? Or tomorrow?” He squeezed his eyes shut. “God, she probably hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Nico assured him. “She’s just upset. She’s a kid, you can’t take what she says to heart.”

“But she’s my kid,” Will started, only for Nico to cut him off.

“Exactly, she’s your kid, so you know she’s gonna love you no matter what,” Nico told him. “She’s upset now, but she’s gonna be fine. Maybe later today, maybe tomorrow. She’s not going to be angry forever.”

Will wrapped his arms around Nico’s back, pulling him in for a hug and setting his forehead on Nico’s shoulder. “Thank you, Nico,” Will said. I love you, Nico, he wanted to say, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

Will left for work, and about an hour later, Nico had gotten Bianca calmed down enough that they could leave for the mall. He hadn’t set foot in a Claire’s since he was sixteen; he’d felt out of place then and he felt out of place now. He would have felt much more comfortable taking her to a tattoo place, but he wasn’t sure they would pierce a six year old’s ears.

They walked right up to the counter at Claire’s anyway, and Nico said to the girl standing there, “Is there any way she can get her ears pierced today?”

The girl glanced over the counter and smiled down at Bianca, who was gripping Nico’s hand tightly. “Absolutely!” She reached under the counter and pulled out a paper and a pen, setting them down in front of Nico. “We just need a parent or guardian to fill out this form.”

Nico took the pen, freezing at the sight of the form. He most certainly was not a parent or guardian, but he couldn’t break Bianca’s heart twice in one day.

“Everything alright?” the worker asked, eyeing Nico suspiciously.

“Yeah,” Nico said with a start. “I just, uh, wasn’t expecting such an extensive form.”

She nodded, keeping her eyes on Nico for a second longer before smiling down at Bianca again. “Do you want to come with me and pick out your first pair of earrings?”

Bianca looked up at Nico. “Can I?”

“Of course, Princess, just don’t leave the store,” Nico told her, and Bianca ran off to follow the worker.

He filled out the form as best he could, but for the life of him could not remember Will’s address. After practically living there at this point, he thought he would have it memorized, but apparently not. Why did stupid Claire’s need their address, anyway?

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, scrolling hastily through his emails until he found one of the first emails Will had ever sent him, listing his address and a few other details that Nico could add to the form.

He scribbled everything onto the paper, dropping his phone back into his pocket just as Bianca reappeared with the worker.

“Any problems?” she asked.

“Nope,” Nico told her, handing back the paper and pen. “Just finished.”

The worker pointed over Nico’s shoulder to a tall chair sitting up against the wall. “If you two want to wait over there for a few minutes, someone will be right over.”

Nico led Bianca over to the chair, lifting her up into it. Bianca started swinging her legs excitedly, staring down at the earrings she’d picked out - pearls, it looked like.

“How does it work, Nico?” Bianca asked.

“See how the backs of the earrings are pointy?” he started. “They take a little thing that looks like a hot glue gun and they poke a hole right through your ear.”

Bianca’s eyes widened. “Does it hurt?”

Nico shook his head. “Not really. Maybe for a second.”

Bianca’s eyes dropped back to the earrings in her hand, a frown growing on her lips and tears forming in her eyes. “Nico, I don’t wanna do it if it hurts!”

“It’s not bad, Princess, I promise,” Nico told her, but when she didn’t appear any less afraid, Nico said, “What if I do it, too? Then you can see that it doesn’t hurt.”

Bianca nodded.

“Okay,” Nico said, holding back a sigh. “Why don’t you go back to where you found those earrings and you can pick some out for me.”

“Really?” Bianca asked.

“Yeah, why not,” Nico answered. “Something you think I’d like, though. If they’re pink, I’ll find my own pair.”

Bianca laughed. “Okay!” And Nico helped her down from the chair. She ran off to find the earrings again, and Nico returned to the counter where the same girl was still standing.

“There’s a slight change of plans,” Nico started, planting his hands on the counter. “She’s a little bit scared, so can I get my ears pierced first, so she can see that it’s not a big deal?”

The girl smiled. “That might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Of course you can!” She pulled out another form, similar to the first but not quite the same. “Here’s a form for you, and when you’re done, we can pick out the earrings you want.”

“Actually, she’s picking them out for me,” Nico started, already scribbling his information down on the form, “and she’s probably going to need some help with that, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“No problem!”

When Nico first got his ears pierced when he was sixteen, it was part of some teen-angst-rebellion thing he was doing, and he’d done it himself in his bedroom with a needle, because his father wouldn’t sign the waivers.

The second time was the day he turned eighteen and Jason had said he’d get Nico whatever he wanted for under a hundred bucks, so Nico got an industrial piercing that looked like a sword going through the shell of his ear. He thought that one looked pretty cool until somebody told him it looked like one of those toothpick swords that hold sandwiches together, so he stopped wearing it.

Jason still had some money left over after that, so Nico got a lip ring while he was at it.

The last one had been on his twentieth birthday, when Percy convinced him to get his tongue pierced, and then made fun of him for it for about a month. Apparently the guy that did the piercing did it too far forward, so it ended up giving Nico a lisp. He didn’t keep that one in very long, but he was pretty sure the hole was still there.

So now here he was, getting his ears pierced once again with a pair of tiny silver studs that Bianca and picked out for him. He barely flinched at the little sting of pain when the earring poked through his skin, more startled by the loud puff of compressed air coming from the earring gun.

He was done in no time, so he hopped out of the chair and knelt down in front of Bianca for her to see.

“Pretty!” she exclaimed.

“It’s your turn now,” Nico reminded her. “Ready?”

“Promise it doesn’t hurt?” Bianca asked.

“Did it look like it hurt?” he asked, and Bianca shook her head. Nico took one of her hands and lightly pinched the back of it with his fingers. “It’s like that. It’s nothing, right?”

Bianca nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Nico lifted her up into the chair and the worker started rubbing at her ears with sanitizing wipes.

“Will you hold my hand?” Bianca asked, making grabbing motions in Nico’s direction.

“Of course, Princess.” He took her hand, and she squeezed it when the first earring went through.

“That hurt more than you said it would,” Bianca complained.

“But it’s not too bad, right?” Nico asked, squeezing her hand gently, only for her to squeeze back when the second earring when through.

“All done!” the worker said, stepping back. “You can come pay at the counter whenever you’re ready.”

Nico lifted Bianca out of the chair, kneeling down in front of her, brushing away a tear before it rolled down her cheek. “Now you really look like a princess, Princess.”

Bianca beamed at him through teary eyes.

Will was still at work when Nico and Bianca returned home from the mall, which meant that Nico had time to dig through his backpack to see if he happened to have any of his previous jewelry on him.

Luckily, through a thorough search of the bag’s contents, Nico found a tiny box that contained his favorite pair of earrings (which had been his sister Bianca’s), the sword he wore through his industrial piercing, the lip ring he could no longer wear because the hole closed up, and finally the single black stud that always sat too far forward on his tongue.

He stepped into the bathroom, remembering to grab the Claire’s Earring Solution on his way, and let the jewelry soak as he tied his hair back; it had just grown long enough to fit into a stubby ponytail. He rinsed off the sword in the sink before carefully placing it through the shell of his ear, and repeated his actions when he set the stud in his tongue.

It felt weird to have both pieces back in place after a few years. Nico could taste the residue from the earring solution on his tongue, but when he looked at himself in the mirror, tongue sticking out to show off the stud, he couldn’t help but grin.

He stepped back into the hall, he could see Bianca sitting on the ground in front of the couch as she colored in a picture on the coffee table. Nico sat down across from her, asking, “Can I have a picture to color?”

Bianca nodded, pushing her coloring book toward him. “You can pick one.”

Nico took the book - it was full of Disney characters, it seemed, though nothing later than 2009, probably - flipping through the pages quickly until he settled on a simple picture of Mickey Mouse. “Can I take this one?” he asked, doing his best to ignore the slight lisp his tongue ring gave him.

Bianca nodded again, taking the book and ripping the page out, handing the single sheet back to him. As Nico picked up a crayon and started to color, Bianca said, “What’s that in your ear?”

Nico smiled at her. “An earring, like what you have.”

“But it’s different,” Bianca pointed out. “You didn’t have that earlier. It’s like you’ve got a sword in your ear!”

“I do.”

“Can I see it?” Bianca asked, and Nico leaned over the table, ear first, so that she could get a better look.

“It hurt to put in, like your earrings did, so be careful,” Nico told her, making a face at the way his voice sounded to himself with the stupid lisp.

“You’re talking funny, too,” Bianca said as Nico sat back to look at her. “A sword in your ear shouldn’t make you talk funny, right?”

Nico thought for maybe half a second that he should scold her for making fun of the way he talked, but figured that since he couldn’t even properly say scold, he shouldn’t bother. “Nope, not the sword,” he told her, and he stuck his tongue out at her.

“Whoa, cool!” Bianca cried, eyes widening. “Is that like an earring in your tongue?”

Nico nodded, closing his mouth.

“Can I get one of those, too?”

He laughed, reaching over to ruffle Bianca’s hair. “Maybe when you’re older, Bi. Now, how about you tell me what you might want for your big birthday dinner?”

Nico was cooking when Will got home, which usually seemed to be the case. Bianca had wanted homemade macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes, which was a strange combination, but Nico was happy to make it for her. He had just set both pots to boil when Will walked in the door.

“Is she still mad at me?” Will asked in lieu of a greeting, staring off in the direction of the living room.

Nico shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Nico,” Will whined, but froze when he glanced over at his boyfriend. “Is that-- Did you…?”

“Maybe,” Nico said with a grin, turning to face Will fully. He reached up, cupping Will’s cheek and dragged him down to his level. “But wait,” he said, and drew their lips together in a kiss, slipping his tongue past Will’s teeth and letting the stud swipe against the roof of Will’s mouth.

When Nico pulled back, Will looked - for lack of a better word - surprised, and maybe a little bit turned on, though his voice seemed almost shaky when he asked, “What was that?”

Nico stuck his tongue out for a moment before saying, “Well, you seemed so interested this morning.” His lazy grin fell away almost immediately as he realized what he’d said - how he’d said it, lisp and all - and turned away quickly as his cheeks started heating up.

“Oh my god,” Will breathed, wrapping his arms around Nico’s waist from behind. “Say that again and tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“No,” Nico refused, busying himself with shredding a block of cheese into a dish for after the pasta was cooked.

“Please?” Will tried again, chin resting on Nico’s shoulder.

“Leave me alone, Solace,” Nico said, realizing his mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

“Oh my god,” Will said again, pressing a smiling kiss to the side of Nico’s neck. “I can’t believe it. I cannot believe that my boyfriend - my hotter than hell boyfriend - is also the most adorable man on the planet.”

“Go away,” Nico laughed, trying and failing to shove Will off of him. “Or no dinner for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Will gasped, pretending to be shocked.

“I would,” Nico insisted. “Besides, dinner won’t be anywhere near as interesting to you when I have to take the stud out.”

“The thud?” Will teased.

“Shut up, oh my god.”

“Fine, fine,” Will relented, though he didn’t move away. After a short pause, he said, in a low voice, “You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to you wearing that to bed tonight, if you know what I mean.”

Nico turned around in Will’s arms, staring up at him with a dead-serious look in his eyes. “We don’t jump on the bed anymore, William.”

Will lasted only a few seconds before his lips cracked into a smile and he dove down to peck Nico on the lips. I love you, he wanted to say, over and over and over again until he didn’t have any air left in his lungs. Instead he settled on, “You’re a dork.”

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