#and will just watching leo flirt with his boyfriend as he is holding nicos hand and giving it a kiss every so often

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

Leo: You made me cry...

Nico: Baby-

Leo, hand on his heart: Don't use pet names for me now

Nico, sticking his tongue out: I'm not. I'm calling you a baby

Nico: It's an insult

Leo:

Leo: Willlllllllllll, your boyfriend is being mean to meeeeeeee

[fandomlit]

sunshine (percy jackson x reader)

requested by anon “Hey, just found you today! I was wondering if you might do a Percy x reader? Something fluffy and the reader is an artsy, music loving, child of Apollo? Percy sees her and suddenly has a new found interest in pottery or drawing or something. His friends (the seven + Nico, Will, and Reyna) notice he’s spending a lot of time at the arts center and call him out/convince him to ask her out. That kind of seems like a lot so no pressure but thank you anyway!”

summary the seven and friends are sick and tired of seeing you and percy tiptoe around your feelings, and decide to push you two together the best they can.

a/n this is super long and im not sorry in the least,, keep those requests coming y’all !!!

gif cred belongs to @pydiasterek​

“has anyone seen percy?” hazel asked, walking up to her friends with frank trailing behind her. “he said we’d be able to spar after lunch, but he didn’t even come to lunch.”

“probably at the arts center,” annabeth said, smirking to herself as she flipped the page of her book.

“arts center?” hazel repeated, furrowing her brow. “since when has percy been interested in the arts?”

“since he caught sight of y/n l/n,” jason snickered, his friends joining his chuckles.

“who’s that?” frank asked.

“apollo girl,” leo said, wiggling his eyebrows as the two romans joined their friends under the tree were lounging under. “she’s super talented. percy walked by the arts center and legitimately did a double-take when he saw her. i didn’t know people actually did that.”

“are they dating?” hazel asked innocently.

“of course not,” reyna said, not looking up from where she was shining her sword. 

“well, why not?” hazel asked, looking around at her friends.

they all looked around, no one seeming to have an answer.

“maybe we should help them,” piper suggested. they all looked to the aphrodite child, who began to smirk. “you know, push ‘em together a bit. couldn’t hurt.”

and that’s how it started.

“hey, percy!” jason called out. the sea demigod had just entered the arena. jason waved his friend over to him. “you up for some sparring?”

“sure thing!” percy called back, heading toward him. as he approached, he caught sight of you spinning a spear near where jason was waiting. he watched you swing toward leo, who immediately whimpered and cowered. you giggled.

“ready?” jason asked. percy’s gaze snapped back to him.

“yeah,” he said, nodding. they both got into their stances before charging at each other. as they sparred, percy glanced back every now and again to watch you and leo fight, you easily overpowering the hephaestus child. one of those times percy glanced over his shoulder, jason took the opportunity to catch him off guard, making percy stumble as he countered and fall back. but before he could hit the ground, something hard dug into his back.

he opened his eyes to see you standing over him with a smirk. “well, hello, water boy,” you said, shaking your head. percy offered you a sheepish smile. he realized it was the butt of your spear digging into his back, holding him up.

“uh... hi,” he breathed. you giggled, pushing your spear forward to held stand him up straight. he turned to you with an embarrassed smile as you leaned against your weapon. “good catch.”

“thanks,” you hummed. “maybe you should stick to swimming, water boy.”

“maybe you should stick to singing, sunshine,” percy retorted, crossing his arms. you let out a scoff, followed by a laugh.

“sunshine?” you repeated. “now that’s just lazy.”

“and water boy isn’t?” he retorted. jason and leo shared looks as you two continued to tease each other, slowly moving away to leave you two alone. they weren’t surprised when they found out nothing ended up happening.

the next day, annabeth invited you to join them around the campfire after dinner, hoping to at least get you and percy to realize the other’s feelings. when you arrived, they all greeted you warmly.

“who invited you, sunshine?” percy joked as you took the seat next to him on one of the seating logs surrounding the fire.

“someone who doesn’t think of such lazy nicknames, merman,” you tutted, shaking your head. he scoffed as you winked at annabeth. 

you all talked for the longest while, telling stories and jokes and enjoying each other’s company. while you two may have not noticed, the rest of the group noticed that you and percy had gravitated closer together during the time you two sat around the fire, your thighs almost pressed completely together after just an hour.

“im gonna call it a night,” will yawned, standing and stretching. nico had slung his jacket over the boy’s shoulders a while ago. 

“that’s my cue, too,” nico sighed, standing after his boyfriend. will grabbed his hand with a smile before turning and pointing at you.

“don’t get back too late, missy,” he teased, winking at you.

“i know the rules, william,” you scoffed teasingly. he chuckled and the couple waved goodnight to the rest of the group. reyna, hazel, frank, and piper followed soon after. that left annabeth, jason, percy, and you around the fire.

“you’re not tired yet, water boy?” you hummed, looking over at percy.

“no,” he shrugged, looking down at you. “are you?”

you shrugged in return, stifling a yawn. “i won’t go to bed until you do.”

“that’s not a good rule to live by,” percy laughed.

“why not?” you grinned, quirking an eyebrow.

“well, you know how im great at a lot of things?”

“you are?”

“i am,” he confirmed in a soft tone that made you giggle. he grinned down at you. “but uh, the one thing im not very good at is sleeping.”

you hummed. “that’s tragic. maybe you should just sleep.”

“you know, i didn’t think of that.”

“i figured as much,” you tsked. neither of you noticed that annabeth and jason had snuck off, leaving you two to flirt and tease alone. the only evident product of success from that night was seeing you return percy’s sweatshirt the next morning. they took that as a small victory.

the kicker was when you were all playing a game of paranoia in jason’s cabin. you were all sat around in a circle on the cleared out floor when piper had sneakily proposed the game. you were all for it. to make sure they could manipulate the game to go their way, the group had separated you and percy. you rested your head in leo’s lap and draped your legs across jason. annabeth caught percy’s stare when you had first looked into leo’s eyes and grinned as you settled in.

“i’ll start,” piper proposed. she leaned over to whisper in nico’s ear. the boy considered, looking around the circle as piper leaned back with a smile.

“annabeth,” he answered. “for sure.” said girl flipped the coin she held. they all watched it land on heads.

“reveal!”

“the question was ‘who do you think would get away with murder’,” piper snickered.

“yeah, that’s about right.”

“i believe it.”

“honestly, she probably has already.” you all turned to the athena child in question. she shrugged easily.

“that’s a woman’s secret,” was all she said, making you all laugh. the game continued on and more laughs were shared. then, it was time for annabeth to whisper to percy.

“lay it on me,” percy sighed as annabeth leaned over, making you all chuckle. percy bit his lip as annabeth leaned away with a not-so-secretive smirk. he kept his gaze trained on the floor in front of him as he considered. he turned to annabeth and asked, “why is this so hard?” you all chuckled as she shrugged.

“gotta answer, though.”

he sighed, still not looking up as he answered, “y/n.”

you blinked in surprise as your friends erupted in whistles. you watched annabeth flip the coin and your heart dropped as it landed on tails.

“damn,” you muttered. they all laughed and you joined. “i really wanted to know!”

the game continued on until it was leo’s turn to whisper to you. you sat up so he could whisper quietly in your ear.

you shivered as he leaned away. “sorry, i got chills.” you laid back down as you considered and they laughed. you smiled to yourself before answering, “will.”

leo nodded. “flip.” the coin landed on heads.

“i asked who the hottest guy in the room was,” leo grinned.

“sun child vibes!” you exclaimed, throwing up peace signs as will cheered. “no? no one? okay.” you leaned forward to whisper to will as they laughed. percy couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. 

the circle went around again, and when it was back to percy, he braced himself for a similar question to the one he received last time. he sighed as he leaned away from annabeth.

“i gotta go with y/n again,” he said, shaking his head.

“i didn’t know we were playing favorites,” jason scoffed, making you all laugh.

“what can i say, sparky?” you sighed dramatically. “you’ve been replaced.” jason placed an offended hand on his heart as you turned to annabeth. “flip, please.”

percy wanted to walk into the ocean when the coin landed on heads, making the circle ‘oo’ and laugh. “uh, i was asked who the prettiest girl in the room was.” he scratched the back of his neck and blushed. you opted to blush as well instead of saying anything as the group burst into ‘aww’s and leo started cheering.

after another few rounds, you all decided to call it a night before dionysus or some other unfathomable thing came to break up your makeshift party.

“can i walk you to your cabin?” you turned to see percy standing with his hands in his pockets.

you gave him a smile. “sure thing, barnacle boy.” he rolled his eyes at the nickname as you two walked out of the zeus cabin.

after a minute of silence, you broke, “so, you think im pretty?” he blushed.

“i was hoping you wouldn’t remember that.”

“who do you think i am?”

you both laughed as he scratched the back of his neck. “well, yeah, i guess. beautiful is a better word for it, though.” you smiled as you both stopped before the steps of the apollo cabin. you knew will was probably watching from the window, but you didn’t care. you only cared about the demigod in front of you at that moment.

“wanna know the question i answered you for?” you hummed. he nodded. you smiled, looking into his sea green eyes as you recited, “‘who would you kiss out of everyone here?’”

his eyebrows shot up, as did his heart rate. “really?” you nodded with your usual easy smile. he looked away from your prying eyes for a second to nod and absorb the exciting information. he looked back down at you and started, “can i-”

“please,” you answered with a laugh, eyes closed as you cut him off. he smiled and leaned down slowly to press his lips to yours gently. he pulled away after a moment. your eyes met his and nothing was said before he leaned down again, this time his hands settling on your waist as you wrapped your arms around his neck. 

the kiss was more intense this time, both of you spilling all of the thoughts and feelings and tension you had held in since you first met onto the other’s lips. and it was nothing short of euphoric. 

but not euphoric enough to drown out the cheers of your friends from all around you two.

[fbfh]

glowing - leo x reader

genre: fluffy mutual pining w quick (cute) resolution

word count: 1.6k

au: none??

pairing: Leo x Daughter of Apollo

requested: hell ye!! hope you enjoy it xo 

warnings: none?? yr half sibs n nico are all protective over you but nothing unhealthy lol

summary: You and Leo have been crushing on each other and cockblocked by your siblings for too long, so you decide to take matters into your own hands. 

reccomended songs: sunshine - atlas, musetta’s waltz - moonstruck soundtrack

a/n: not super edited but what’s new lol  i just forgot how to spell edit for a hot second lmao

requests r open babes xo

Between your siblings being ready to maul someone with arrows (and bad music) at a moment’s notice, and Nico - honorary brother and the Apollo cabin’s unofficial bodyguard, dating is… tricky. Even your uncoordinated eight year old half brother Kevin has offered to bang on a guitar and scream, making everyone’s ears bleed. A few weeks ago, an Ares kid made your little sister Sophie cry, and Nico found out. The entire Ares cabin spent two weeks getting all the skeletons out of their closets. Literally. More human bones would appear every time they cleared some out, rattling unsettlingly. People generally don’t mess with you, or other Apollo kids, which you usually don’t mind. You wouldn’t even give it a second thought.

But you did give it a second thought. And a third. And a fourth. And several others. All of them centered around Leo Valdez. You’ve been admiring him from afar for weeks. You didn’t know why his friends were so hard on him at times. You got the vibe that if he started dating someone, his friends would give him the ‘hurt them and we’ll kill you’ speech instead of the other way around. 

At first simply observing was cathartic, seeing him fix swords and laugh with his friends, but as time went on, it just became frustrating. You just want something to happen, you want to make him as happy as he makes you. The most frustrating part was that there had been so many missed opportunities. There was the time two weeks ago when you were flirting after picking up your harp bow from getting a few touch ups, the time after that you two lost track of time and watched the sunset on the docks, and just days ago when you stayed up late talking in Bunker 9 when neither of you could sleep. 

Every single time, one of your siblings either scared him off or dragged you away before you could leave. Most recently, it was Will and Nico. You could swear Nico was muttering to Will, something along the lines of “what is it with that guy and going after my little sisters?”  This wasn’t surprising, since they got together, the whole cabin has made Nico feel really welcome, resulting in him treating you all like sibling-figures. 

You shake your head, trying to focus on the sparring practice that starts in a few minutes. Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter are arranging the first inter-camp capture the flag match, and everyone’s really excited. And training like crazy. If it goes well, it might happen as frequently as once a month, but you have to get through this one, first. Most of the extra time at camp has been spent practicing sparring, battle strategy, and other tactics. Campers were encouraged to watch other fights closely, try to spot defensive weaknesses, and study technique. Right now, Leo and Jason are demonstrating some method of something or other. You’re watching Leo fight, and you’re just… awestruck. You don't even know what to do with yourself. He's agile and light on his feet, and he moves almost like a cat. His muscles flex as he strikes, and your heart lurches. It looks like he's losing. All of a sudden he smirks, and shoots out a blast of flame, sending Jason stumbling back. Campers applaud at the successful win, and he jokingly bows. 

"Thank you, thank you… I'm amazing, I know-" Jason shoves him jokingly, and clears his throat for the crowd's attention, while Leo gets a glass of water. 

"Okay guys, pair up to practice sparring. Don't be afraid to spar with someone new, the more fighting styles you know the better…" you turn towards the water cooler.  Watching him now, you could swear he's all god. He has a gold halo in the late afternoon sunshine, and a drop of water trickles down his face onto his neck. You make a small strangled noise and know this has gone far enough. You need to do something about this crush before it kills you. You walk over to him, and before you can chicken out, ask, “Hey Leo, want to spar?” He almost chokes on his water. He agrees, seeming pleasantly surprised that you asked him. You pull out your harp bow and he pulls out a large, flat hammer. 

‘Good for offense and defense,’ you think, ‘he’s smarter than he looks…’ 

You start off slowly, getting a feel for each other, and your fighting styles. You spar for hours, and end up tied for wins and losing track of time. He gets you off balance with a fancy move, and next thing you know, there’s a nail gun at your neck. 

“I win,” he pants, smirking. Your cheeks flush.

“Can you- show me how to do that?” you say, catching your breath. He agrees, and walks behind you, hands on yours. He shows you how to shift your weight, causing your opponent to lose theirs. His right hand moves to your thigh, readjusting your alignment. 

“...Keeping your center of gravity low,” he breathes, his lips dangerously close to your ear, “so you won’t fall.” Neither of you move away yet. You turn your face towards his, eyes on the ground.

“Can you… show me again…” you breathe. A smile twitches at his lips. He leans in, and-

“Apollo cabin, inspection time!” You jump away from each other.

“All Apollo campers back to cabin seven asap!” you flinch at your brother’s voice, which you know is directed at you. You sigh, turn towards him, and yell back, “I’m coming, just finishing this sparring match!” You see him retreat and turn back to Leo. Before he knows it, you have him pinned to the ground. 

“Gotcha,” you say with a smirk of your own. You lean further down, and whisper, “Meet me at the docks at midnight.” You pull away, and jog off toward your cabin, leaving Leo flustered and excited. 

Later that night when you finally reach the docks, Leo’s already there. “Hi,” he says when he sees you, “I know I’m a little bit early I just… got nervous…” You giggle and reassure him.

“I just hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long,” 

“Don’t worry,” he replies, “it was worth the wait.” You blush. He looks around, and you realize he’s nervous.

“Don’t worry about the cleaning harpies,” you comfort him, “I left them some muddy armor to distract them, we should be good for a while,” you both laugh a little, and you realize he’s staring at you. You look at him inquisitively, a smile playing at your lips and a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“What?”

"You're glowing," he breathes the words softly, amazed by your presence. You look down at your arms, and blush. Your cheeks turn a soft, fluorescent shade of rose. Bioluminescence was a very rare, pretty useless power that some children of Apollo could have. It did, however, allow you to act as a nightlight for your cabin, which everyone (older kids included) enjoyed. No one in your cabin did well in the dark, so everyone slept a little better since you'd been claimed. 

“You are glowing, right? It’s not just me?” he asks, half joking. 

“Yeah, no,” you confirm, snapping out of your thoughts, “that’s a… thing that happens sometimes. It’s saved me a lot of bruised shins in the middle of the night.” As you both laugh, you decide enough is enough. 

“So, I’m taking the fact that you showed up here at all a good sign,” you say, knowing you have to start somewhere, “I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it.” Your adrenaline is racing. Your limbs are tingly, and your heart is beating so fast. You know you have his full attention, which makes all of that worse. It’s now or never, you remind yourself, and I’m choosing now.

“I have a huge crush on you.” Visible surprise and excitement is all over his face and body language, and an involuntary smile starts on his mouth. You continue, partially aware that you’re nervous rambling at this point.

“I was hoping you might say it first, but my siblings and Nico are so intimidating and I was like forget that, I’m seizing the day, and…”

“And?” he asks, in a breathless smile.

“And… do you-”

“I like you too. A lot - just ask my friends, I never shut up about you-” You can’t hold back a giggle as you place your hands on his face and pull him in for a kiss. He’s stunned for a second before he kisses you back, gently resting his hands on your arms. You smile into the kiss, which makes him smile, and-

“What the hell, Valdez?!” 

You jump, pulling apart from him. 

“Will! What are you-” before you can finish the thought, darkness pools at his feet and suddenly Nico is standing in front of him. He greets Will with a mushy pet name and leans in to kiss him, but Will stops him before he can and clears his throat. 

“Wha-” Nico turns his head, “...oh…” 

You laugh in disbelief. Mr. High And Mighty was here for the exact same reason you were. You smile fades as you realize that even though you have dirt on him, he still has dirt on you. 

“You know,” you say, reaching for Leo’s hand, “I don’t know if I saw you here, or what…” 

Will wraps an arm around Nico, and starts in the opposite direction. “Funny, I don’t remember seeing you either,” he shrugs.

“Right,” you reply. 

“Right.”

You both drag your respective boyfriends in opposite, more private directions. Suffice it to say, there was a lot more kissing that night - and no more interruptions.

[cabin-7]

Heroes of Olympus but they're Josh Kennedy vines

Leo: dude oh my god there was the biggest fuckin' nerd in your exact seat yesterday

Jason: ...that was me with my glasses on!

Percy: yo dude! Mary, fuck kill. A burrito, a bagel, and a pizza slice

Leo: well first off I'm fucking that burrito!

Gaea: hey dude your family's dead

Leo: what!?

Gaea: april fools day!...was like 6 months ago you're an orphan now

Frank: that awkward moment when you're trying to take a shit and your brother is just kicking it in the bathroom

Leo: I'm single!

Hazel: yeah that's the bees knees!

Frank: The cats pajamas!

Leo: ...the chicken's trousers?

Piper: what the fuck was that Leo?

Leo: you guys took mine!

Leo: hey Percy there's something I wanna ask you

Percy: Really? What?

Leo: how come your socks are untied

Percy: *looks at his feet* w h a t

Leo:*snort* stupid bitch

Leo: got diagnosed with cool guy syndrome yesterday! So now I take..adderall! *finger guns*

Jason: percy what are you doing

Percy: *poking holes in water bottle cap*

Jason:' percy!

Percy: *squirts water at Jason*

Annabeth: so I invite my mom to my birthday party and she shows up. But only to shit and leave. What's up with that?

Leo: *to who everyone thinks is piper* what up babe. Not to be blunt but I wanna fuck your brains out.... I don't care if your in a realationship I was talking to your boyfriend!

Or alternatively

Nico when he still had a crush on Percy: *to who everyone thinks in annabeth* what up babe. Not to be blunt but I wanna fuck your brains out.... I don't care if your in a realationship I was talking to your boyfriend!

Leo: *staring at Jason*

Jason: why dont you take a picture it'll last longer

Leo: I'd love to take a picture

Jason: ...no

Leo: then shut tHE FUCK UP-

*Leo and nico watching ratatouille*

Leo: guess what. The rat is the cook the whole time

Nico: *flips him off*

Nico: uh excuse me father steve?

Priest: yes my son?

Nico: does god hate you if you're gay?

Preist: of course not

Nico: ....oh

Jason: hey mom I know we have our differences but, I love you

Beryl: *sign language*

Jason: ...you're not mute so-

Leo: Hey Piper. Hey Jason. Do you wanna see me do some ventriloquism?

Piper: sure why not

Leo:*opens puppet's mouth* aaAAAAAAA

Leo: this realationship is going really good Steve. May I hold your hand *crushes snail by accident*NO

Leo: *sobbing* how am I supposed to find another gay snail

Leo trying to flirt: your total will be 2.29 and a kiss on the lips

Nico: ....no

Leo: heh yes

Octavian: never have i ever had a mom that picked up alcoholism and then got into a deadly car accident while driving

Jason: *blinks in suprise*

Octavian: hey Jason didnt that happen to you! Put your finger down

Young Nico: why isnt Bianca moving!?

Percy: Bianca killed herself

Annabeth: killed herself yup

[kawaii-kozume]

Ocean Eyes

Rated G. Soldezangelo. 4261 Words.

"Hey, Harley? Have you seen Graham?" Leo Valdez was currently undertaking the worst task in the shelter: Cleaning the cages. He swore he latched the cat carrier that contained their most wily of their cats but now that he was ready to put the cat back, the carrier was open and said cat was nowhere in sight.

"I saw him chasing something in the back room. Why?" The younger boy turned to Leo, holding a stack of newspapers he was going to hand off to Leo.

“Uhh, he’s not in the back room. I was just in there.” Nyssa twisted her body around Leo and something floated above his head. He glanced up and saw a container of cat food floating above him.

“So, Graham’s missing again.” Leo stated. He loved being able to work with his siblings, but sometimes they seemed to have low awareness of what’s going on. “I’ll head out to find him.”

“He can’t have gone far. Take some flyers.” Nyssa called back from further up the line of cages.

"Oh, yeah!” Leo said. He threw on his jacket and popped into the back room to pick up pre-printed Have you seen this cat? flyers. Honestly, Graham just needed to find a home already. Leo's been told he's been there for forever. He would absolutely volunteer for him, but his mother would kill him if he brought another cat home. It was already difficult enough to remember the three they already had. He walked into the coffee shop next door and asked the patrons if they’d seen a sandy bengal/manx cat on the streets. They shook their heads and Leo moved on. He finally found someone who'd seen the cat. It was a girl with red hair, around his age standing at a flower booth.

“That looks like the little guy I saw down by the pier. He wasn’t on it though, just hanging out at the start of it.” She said. She watched him not unkindly. Leo’s eyes widened. Why the hell was this cat like this? He’s been found by the shoreline so much Leo needs to make a note to just start looking there.

"Awesome! Thank you so much!" Leo called already sprinting off towards the beginning of the beach. He chucked his shoes off to the side and started wandering around asking people about Graham.

"He was down that way a little."

"Oh yeah! He chased after a seagull a couple minutes ago. Down that way."

"A young man around your age picked him up and started walking with him. He's blond and was walking with another man." An older man said. Leo was stunned. Who would pick up a random cat?

"Which direction did they start walking?" Leo asked. The man pointed north.

"Thank you." Leo was off trying to find these people, which in hindsight, Leo probably should have asked for more details on the two. He was starting to lose hope with the sun beating down on him when he saw a tawny tail flick out from under someone's arm. Leo walked up and tapped the stranger's shoulder.

"Hi there, sorry to bother you, but I think you found my cat." He started. "I can take him back to the shelter now and be out of your hair."

Leo was prepared to receive a cat, apologize and leave, grumbling to the same cat as he walked back across the beach to his shoes and back to the shelter. Leo was very much unprepared for the stranger to turn around, cradling Graham like a baby. He was also unprepared for how attractive the stranger was. He had bright blue eyes and freckles splattered across his nose and cheeks. His smile was warm and open. Leo nearly took a step back.

"Hi, sorry for scooping him up. I was a little worried about him being so close to the water." The stranger said.

"Oh, um, it's okay." Leo just wanted to grab the cat and leave. This was getting awkward for him.

"He's cute. You said he's a shelter?" Another person walked up to their conversation. This must've been the other one the man mentioned.

"Uh, yeah." Oh gods . Leo thought. The new man was also really attractive. His dark eyes glittered with a hint of mischief and Leo wanted to run away from anything that could happen. He had his dark hair in a low ponytail to stay out of his face from the wind off the waves. Leo watched as the dark haired man held up a popsicle to the blond and the blond took it without letting go of the cat.

“What’s his name?”

“The cat’s?” Leo asked. The blond smiled around his popsicle and reached up to take it out of his mouth.

“Well, I think Neeks was asking me for yours, but the cat’s will do too.” He said. Leo felt his cheeks heat up. Was Blondie flirting with him?

“The cat’s name is Graham Cracker, or Graham for short.” Leo flipped on his charm with a smile. “I’m Leo.”

“Nice to meet you, Leo. I’m Will. This is my boyfriend, Nico.” Will held the cat out to Nico who accepted him with barely hidden excitement. Leo had an internal panic. He flirted with a taken man? Oh gods, it’s just his luck. How in the world was it fair that they were both so stupidly nice looking and they look even better next to each other? To be fair to them, he wouldn't remember them in the morning so really is it so bad?

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Graham.” Nico cooed at the cat. Will glanced over and watched with fondness. Leo decided it was time to move along and get back to the shelter, mostly to escape this awkward situation.

“Well, um, I gotta get back to the shelter.” Leo held out a hand towards Nico for the cat. Nico looked up with a small frown. His glittering eyes dulled for a moment as he handed the cat over to Leo.

“Hey, our friends are having a party here tonight. Would you wanna, come hang out?” Will asked. Nico leaned into him and watched Leo with interest.

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t do parties, really.” Graham squirmed in Leo’s arms, trying to escape again.

“No pressure, but the offer stands.” Will and Nico walked off, continuing along the shoreline as Leo turned around to go the other way.

“You are one difficult, little cat. Why’d you have to go for the most attractive people on the beach?” Leo scolded the cat affectionately the entire way back to the shelter. He tried to focus on helping customers and his siblings, but he couldn’t shake the invite out of his head. Maybe he’d go, just to say he tried.

***

The sun was setting on the horizon as Leo locked up the shelter. Harley and Nyssa had begun walking home but not before Harley gave Leo a tight hug and Nyssa turned on location sharing for both hers and Leo's phone.

"I'll be okay, promise, mi hermana. And I'll be home before 2." Leo had reassured his sister before they left. He pulled his windbreaker closer to him as he got closer to the sea. He saw the party before he got close enough to be noticed.

There was a fairly large group of people hanging around a lit bonfire. Some were a short distance away passing a volleyball back and forth, some were passing drinks around and some had set up a folding table for beer pong. Leo looked around, trying to see if his acquaintances were already there, but he couldn't see them. Before he could leave though, a familiar redhead came up to him.

"Oh hey! You're the cat guy, right? Did you find him?" She asked. Leo reached into his pocket for his wire before answering.

"Yeah! Thanks for pointing me towards the beach. Some people held onto him before I could get him." Leo explained. His hands worked on twisting the cool wire and he waited for the woman to move on to someone else.

"Are you here for the party? I didn't know we had mutual friends." She gave a soft chuckle. Well, shit, now what does Leo say?

"Oh, um," Before Leo was able to make a fool of himself, someone let their hand fall on his shoulder.

"Hey, Rachel. This is Leo. He's new around our scene. Neeks and I ran into him today and invited him." Will had appeared next to Leo like a saving angel. Rachel's smile grew at Leo.

"Awesome! Well, I'm headed off to find Annabeth." She nodded to Leo and then turned around, heading towards the group with the volleyball.

"Sorry we're late. Getting this one to come out is like pulling teeth, even if it's a party with our friends." Will shot a look to Nico, who rolled his eyes and scanned the crowd.

"There's a lot of people here." Leo stated.

"Yeah, our friend group is more like an extended family. Makes holidays hectic, but fun as hell. Hang with us and we'll introduce you to people as we go." Will said. Nico had made his way to one of the coolers and lifted a bottle towards Will and Leo.

"You want a drink?" Will asked.

"Um, how bout an ice?" Leo replied.

Will nodded then moved his hands around, catching Leo's attention. He must've looked confused because when Will turned back to Leo, he let out a warm laugh.

"Sign language. It's easier in large groups like this, and if anyone goes nonverbal, or has hearing problems, I can still communicate with them." Will explained. He started walking further into the party area as Leo followed.

"Goes nonverbal?" Leo asked. He had an idea what Will meant but he wanted to make sure before assuming. Nico got back with three open bottles and handed them off to the other two.

"Well, a good portion of our group is neurodivergent. It's not a bad thing, just means we adapt how we interact sometimes. Sometimes when we get overwhelmed, our brains don't form sentences well or we have problems verbalizing, sign language kind of cuts out having to put sound out." Will explained. It made sense to Leo. Sometimes Harley would go through a shut down and it sounded like what Will was saying.

"Plus he's premed so he's better off learning sign language anyways." Nico added. Will looked away, pink coming up to his cheeks.

"Dude, you're premed? Good shit, you gotta be like, super smart." Leo blurted. He regained composure after seeing Nico's expression. It was an amused one that used the unsettling, mischievous eyes.

"Yeah, it's- I mean, it's not a big deal. I'm just trying to do what I can." Will was intentionally downplaying the situation and Leo let him.

"C'mon, I wanna watch Percy wipe the floor with Jason." Nico said, grabbing Leo's wrist. He started walking towards the game of beach volleyball. More people had shown up and apparently someone brought a portable net.

Leo glanced back to see Will talking to someone else. He did look over at Leo and Nico, though. There was something in his gaze that Leo couldn't explain. Maybe longing? But that was dumb, why didn't he just come with Nico if he wanted to be with him? Nico stopped in front of him and sat down in the sand next to Rachel and two other girls, one blond and one brunette.

"Hey guys, how are the teams split and who's winning?" Nico asked. Leo, deciding not to worry about introductions right now, let his gaze move to the court. There were three guys and a girl all hovering around the middle of the net. They seemed to be negotiating rules.

"Jason and Thalia versus Percy and Frank." The blond replied. Nico perked up when the blond mentioned Frank. Leo watched him turn to scan the crowd.

"Frank's here? Is Hazel?" He asked, obviously excited to talk to Hazel.

"Yeah, I think she's around somewhere." The brunette answered.

"Nice." Nico murmured to himself.

"So, you gonna introduce us to your friend?" The brunette asked, eyeing Leo. Leo tried to look friendly and smiled at her.

"Ah, this is Leo. Will and I met him earlier today. He's tagging along tonight." Nico explained. "Leo, this is Annabeth and Piper."

The blond, Annabeth, smiled back at Leo, but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Nice to meet you." She said. Leo noticed the other girl was looking away from him. Annabeth elbowed her. She turned to face Leo and gave him a wobbly smile.

"Sorry about her, she gets really emotional over her friends." Annabeth said. "She loves getting new friends as a result."

"Oh, awesome! I also love getting new friends." Leo felt like it was best to not explain that each friend was a new one to him.

"Oh! They're starting!" Annabeth said. "Good luck, Percy!"

"Go Thals!!" Piper shouted. Leo took a sip of his drink.

"Who are you rooting for?" Leo asked. He watched who he assumed was Percy toss the volleyball up and hit it over the net to start the game.

"Percy and Frank. Always do." Nico replied. "Percy's a good friend of mine and Frank is Hazel's boyfriend."

Nico talked as if Leo was supposed to know who Hazel was but he was sure he'd never met a Hazel in his life. Unless these people were his friends? But if they were friends then why didn't Nyssa or his mom mention them? He wouldn't have had friends. If he did, they'd have left by now.

"Who's-?" Before Leo could finish talking, another girl with dark skin and eyes that glittered with mischief sat down next to him.

"Hey, Neeks." She said. Neeks seemed to be a nickname for Nico but only people he was really close with. Nico reached around Leo and tapped the bottle she was holding with his.

"I was wondering where you were." Now Leo wasn't usually an easily irritated person, but this was the third person at this party who showed up and Nico hadn't offered him and introduction. So Leo decided to do it himself.

"Hi there, the name's Leo. And what precious name fits a precious lady like you?" He asked. He did pretty well if he said so himself. It must have worked because the girl ducked her head as if she were shy.

"Hi Leo, I'm Hazel. I'm Nico's sister." She said with a lilt in her voice as if she was laughing. Leo froze. Man, he freezes a lot around this group. He glanced at Nico who was giving him a borderline dangerous look.

"Oh damn, I'm sorry. I didn't-" Leo started to apologize.

"No, don't worry about it. How would you have known?" She said. "This is our first time meeting, after all." She seemed sad with that fact.

"Yeah, of course. I'm gonna, um," Leo fumbled, trying to find the right words that didn't make it sound like he was moving in on Will. "I'm gonna go see where Will went."

Leo got up without checking to see how Nico took it. He walked around the bonfire in search of the blond, taking sips of his drink while he did. He hadn't had much to eat today so he felt a pleasant hum in his arms as he finally found Will, chatting with a couple of people.

"Hey, Will. Wondered where you'd gotten to." Leo said, resting a hand on Will's shoulder to steady himself.

"Oh, hey, Leo." Will wrapped an arm around Leo's waist to help him stay steady. "Leo, this is Grover and Juniper. They're some childhood friends of mine."

Leo smiled and nodded at them but was hyper aware of the heat coming off of Will's arm against his back. What would Nico think? Is this normal for Will? To prop up strangers he just met? What if after tonight they never talk to him again?

"Hey, Sunshine, heads up." Nico's voice came from somewhere on Will's left and at the same time, Leo wriggled out of Will's clutches. He felt bad about everything and was debating on going home. But when he got the nerve to look at Nico, the other looked away with an expression so haunting, Leo wished he could sleep right now so he'd forget it.

Nico looked like a man who'd been through a lot and lost something extremely important to him. And he was looking at Leo with that expression. Leo spent a couple more minutes standing with Will, Grover, Juniper and Nico but he was starting to get itchy. Not physically but mentally. Like, he was so close to remembering something important. It was the same feeling when he remembered his own name the first time. Then when he remembered his siblings. But this seemed much more intense. He knew he must have been frowning but he wandered away from the group, walking through couples by the fire, past the table where the ping pong balls were landing in the sand more and more as the night went on and past the interim volleyball court where he watched Jason spike the ball into the sand on the other side. There was something, comforting about all of this. Like this was a safe haven for him. But he couldn't place why.

He glanced back to Nico and Will. Something about them was inviting from the start. Since he tapped on Will's shoulder, he'd started feeling this sense of security. Nico turned back and locked eyes with him. Leo gasped softly, concerned he was really overstepping. He considered running as Nico excused himself and made his way over to Leo who's heels were being lapped at by the water. Leo turned around to face outward towards the moonlit horizon.

"You're starting to remember something, aren't you?" Nico asked, soft enough he couldn't wake an owl. Leo's head whipped to look at him.

"You- I- We- Uh, wait." Leo stuttered. He took a breath to organize his thoughts as best he could.

"You do know me. How? And why didn't you say anything sooner?" Leo asked, starting to become upset. If Nico knew him, why didn't he say something? Or Will for that matter? Wait, what if the reason was that Leo himself had dated one of them before the accident.

"We don't say anything because we all decided it would be best for you to not have to feel pressured into a relationship you have no recollection of. We want you to have the best healing process possible." Nico told the ocean. He had yet to look at Leo.

"So you know then? About the accident, about my memory, about everything?" Leo asked. Nico took a shaky breath.

"Everyone here knows about the accident. This was your family before the explosion." Nico said. Leo shook his head then fell back into the sand. The water continued to lap over his feet.

"I want to know everything. About you. About our friends. About our situation." Leo sighed. He hated this. He hated knowing but not quite knowing. He knew Nico was special. But so was Will. And he didn't understand.

Nico flopped down next to him and continued to stare out at the sea. "Well, after you woke up and didn't recognize your mother, she told Will and I. We came rushing to you as soon as possible. When we walked in, you didn't recognize us either. The doctors told us you had short term memory loss but they said it could be possible that you recover. Something about the neurons being resilient and reforming. But until then, you'd wake up each day and not remember anything." Leo tried not to watch the tear running down Nico's cheek.

"The first day, we were there as soon as you woke up. But five people hovering over you freaked you out. So the next day, Will and I met you at the shelter and explained who we were to you."

"And who is that?" Leo asked, almost afraid of the answer. Nico got a pained look on his face.

"I don't want to tell you. It's difficult, alright? Maybe by the end of the night." Nico didn't look at Leo. In his peripheral, Leo registered that Will was walking over to the two.

"Anyways, in doing so, we kind of scared you away. You got skittish when you saw us that day. That's when we decided not to mention it." Nico continued. Will had sat on the other side of Leo.

"But, we still wanted to see you. So we had to get creative about it. First two weeks, we came in and pretended to be looking at adopting a cat. Graham Cracker, specifically. Which isn't a lie, we love Graham, but he serves a different purpose now. The next couple weeks we'd see you on your lunch break and invite you to hang out that night. Always our friends are having a party, join us kind of invite." Will and Nico were trading off explaining and Leo was taking it all in.

"So we learned you liked being invited out more and more. Then you remembered Harley and Nyssa. Our hope grew. We hatched a plan with Harley. Every morning, Harley would leave Graham's cage open. He'd escape and we would 'find' him and keep him safe until you showed up." Nico smiled at Leo now.

"Then, we'd invite you to the nightly party." Will finished.

"So, wait, you guys do this nightly?" Leo asked, looking back at the group.

"Well, yeah. Everybody wants to hang out with you, but they don't wanna scare you. So we have nightly parties, we get you down here, and there's a rotation of who gets most of your attention. Like Nico's probably said: This is your family."

Leo sat in silence for a while and the other two just sat with him. Everyone knowing him and being his friend would explain why he felt so content with them all. He still wasn't sure about Will and Nico. He knew they weren't like the others but he couldn't let himself believe that it was like that .

"So say I believe you, what do I do now?" He asked eventually. Will sat up from where he was laying in the sand.

"That depends, what do you want to do now?" He asked. Leo looked out to the ocean. The cold water sounded like it could shock his system and help.

"I wanna go for a swim." Leo said before getting up and shedding his windbreaker, shirt then his shorts until he was down to his boxers. He ran into the surf, ignoring Nico's calls. He was right, the water was freezing. And it did shock his system until all he could think about was the cold. He felt someone come up behind him and he turned around, coming face to face with Nico.

"Th-this water is f-f-freezing. C'mon." Nico's teeth clacked together and all in one moment, Leo remembered what it was like to kiss him. His lips, soft from overuse of chapstick and his dark eyes hiding behind closed eyelids. Leo knew he probably shouldn't have given in, but in that one moment, he wanted nothing more than to feel those feelings again. He grabbed the back of Nico's neck and pressed his lips to Nico's, startling the other man. But kissing for them was as easy as breathing. Nico sighed and Leo felt like he was closer to being whole than he had all day. When they pulled apart, Nico had a soft smile on his face.

"Will's gonna be jealous I was first tonight. You've kissed me first every night for the last two weeks." Nico whispered, barely audible over the waves. "C'mon, you're gonna get hypothermia."

Leo, for his part, was a bit overwhelmed. Did Nico say first?

"Did you say first?" Leo asked as Nico dragged him out of the water by his wrist. Will was standing by the shoreline with two towels. How he knew Leo was going to do this was beyond Leo, but he was prepared.

"Yeah, first. Leo, you're our boyfriend. We don't like to tell you unless you instigate or say something first." Nico said. Leo allowed Will to wrap the towel around his shoulders. He looked up at the blond and grinned.

"How did I manage to score not one, but two incredibly sexy boyfriends?" Neither answered but Leo didn't need an answer, really. He just wanted to try and fluster them.

"So, can I kiss you now?" He asked Will. Will seemed shocked but before he could say yes, Leo was already leaning up, pressed against him and meeting his lips. It was quick and soft, but enough that Leo remembered a garage with a guitar in it. He laughed.

"You're a musician. Premed and a musician. Is there anything you can't do?" Leo laughed. His smile faded though as he fully processed their relationship.

"How many times have I not come back to you two?" Leo asked, afraid to hear the answer. Will pulled him forward and held him to his chest. Nico leaned on Leo's back and let Will speak. His voice rumbled through Leo's head as he said the best words in Leo's life.

"Every single day since the accident, you've always come home to us. And we'll continue to fight for you to remember it."

[solange-lol]

could you possibly write some sort of high school au solangelo??

school! aus! are! my! guilty! pleasure!

my apologies, this is kind of long, I got excited. 

read on ao3

Will Solace hated Nico di Angelo with a burning passion.

Okay, that was a bit dramatic. But he didn’t like Nico. All through middle school you expect the whole “guys stick together,” thing, and for the most part Will did have a lot of friends by his side. He was pretty popular, laid back. Not on any sports teams, but everyone still liked him. 

Well, everyone but Nico, who teased him consonantly and pulled every prank imaginable on him. There was no reason behind it, maybe just for the sole reason that everyone liked Will whilst Nico had his sister Hazel, and that was all. 

Of course, Will never thought of this teasing to be anything besides a constant threat against him

₪₪₪

When they got into high school, Nico finally seemed to hold an unspoken truce to Will. Maybe because Will had sort of lost all his friends from middle school and only hung out with the kids who ate lunch in the band room.  

By their second year, Will couldn’t recall the last time Nico di Angelo had even spoken to him. Either he gave up, or he was too busy paying attention to the infamous Percy Jackson, a junior who played Fullback on their schools football team along with Jason Grace who played Quarterback and who had grown closer to Nico over the years, meaning that the three of them spent a lot of time together, as well as their girlfriends Annabeth Chase and Piper McClean, not to mention Hazel who still sat as his lunch table along with her boyfriend, Frank Zhang (who was also on the football team and played wide receiver.) All in all, Nico had found himself a small friend group. 

When Will first heard the rumors about Nico liking Percy, he wasn’t sure what to think. At first, he didn’t know if he should believe it. They started out high school with “gay” still being an insult, but as the months passed, Will started to see more and more LGBT couples, including Jason’s older sister Thalia, who was in Percy’s grade, and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, also a junior. (not to mention Will deciding he was bi.) After a while, it all made sense to be true. Nico basically looked up to Percy, always tried to engage in conversation with him, and laughed at all his jokes, which 90% of the time weren’t even funny. 

A few weeks later, word got around that “Nico finally got the guts to tell Percy how he felt, Percy politely rejected him, now Nico refuses to talk to him” which was the first time Will ever felt bad for him. 

₪₪₪

After all the “Percy rejecting Nico” drama, everyone had the unspoken agreement that Nico was gay, and by the middle of their sophomore year, everyone mostly forgot about it, including Will. 

So when Nico and Will were paired up for a History project, Will thought nothing of it besides anxiety that this is where Nico will remember he existed and start teasing him again.

To his surprise, however, Nico seemed to act like nothing ever happened in their past years, and worked with Will quite well. They talked a lot during the week they had, and afterwords they continued to talk to the point where they were maybe kind of friends?

They didn’t eat lunch together, Will still sitting in the band room while Nico sat awkwardly in the cafeteria with his friends (and as far away to Percy as he could get) but they exchanged “hellos” in the hall, and talked a bit together before the classes they took together would start. Will was surprised by how much they actually had in common when it came to interests.

And by winter break, Will had developed a kind-of-sort-of-crush on Nico di Angelo. 

“Just ask him out!” his cousin Kayla told him while they sat on the couch watching their younger cousins unwrapping presents on Christmas morning after Nico had sent Will a half-faced snapchat saying “merry xmas solace” making Will’s heart melt. When it came to relationships, Kayla was always there for Will. 

“Thats what Lou Ellen said, but I can’t just go up to him and ask him out!” 

“Why not?” was her response. “You can handle rejection!”

“Not from him!” he hissed.

“William Solace, theres nothing to be afraid of, because he obviously likes you!” Kayla said indignantly.  

Will huffed, “We’ll see.” 

₪₪₪

To Will’s surprise, a note fell out of his locker a couple mornings later when he opened it to get his textbook for Math.

skip lunch. meet me in gender neutral bathroom on the second floor across from the library. -nico 

Will smiled. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it was a harmless note.

Like the note said, Will showed up outside the bathroom on the second floor, where Nico was standing against the wall, with his usual black shirt, tattered black jeans, and black converse. 

Upon arrival, Nico barley looked up before grabbing Will’s hand and dragging him into the bathroom and locking the door behind him. 

“What a-” Will started before Nico turned around, trapping him against the bathroom tiles, fierce determination in his eyes, and suddenly bad feeling were flooding into Will’s stomach, making his heart beat fast and his eyes widen.

It’s a trap, it’s all been a trap, this is where he beats me up, forget friendship, forget crushes, it was all a trap

But Will didn’t have any time to put his thoughts into actions before Nico stood up on his tiptoes, leaned in, and-

kissed him

Nico was kissing him.

He didn’t think, he didn’t notice any feeling except for the soaring feeling of his heart as Nico di Angelo kissed him.

As soon as he could process what was happening, he responded  to the kiss, hands lifting from his sides to wrap around Nico’s waist, pulling him closer. Nico’s hands dropped from the walls onto Will’s shoulders, then sliding his hands up so his palms cupped Will’s face, his fingers closing around the back of his neck. 

It felt like days when they finally released each other, smiling with flustered cheeks and messy hair. 

Needless to say, Nico showed up to his Biology class in the same state, mumbling an excuse as he slid in the seat next to Piper, who gave him a knowing wink.

₪₪₪

(junior year)

Nico was at a party.

He hated high school parties. He wasn’t big on socialization, despite being friends with 3 of the best football players in the school. His friend group had grown since last year. Sometimes he sat in the cafeteria with Jason and Piper and Hazel and all the others, but most of the time he sat in the band room with the theater kids, and now had a solid group there too. Lou Ellen and Cecil, Leo and Calypso, and of course Will.

Will. That was the only reason he showed up to the freaking thing. He would’ve preferred to spend a nice quiet night together watching a movie or something at Will’s house. But Jason asked Nico to come while Will was standing next to him and Will decided they were going. And Nico didn’t argue because frankly, he wasn’t paying attention to the conversation.

But now he as at this party with a bunch of drunk juniors and seniors in Jason’s house and he didn’t know where Will had gone or where anyone was frankly, and so he stood in the back with a Diet Coke, hoping no one would try and approach him.

Unfortunately, that didn’t go very well because he suddenly found himself in a conversation with Percy Jackson, his first crush that had rejected him, which Nico wasn’t as crushed as he could be, considering he knew how much Annabeth and Percy liked each other. 

And now here was Percy, chatting away with Nico instead of making out with Annabeth somewhere else, just like Nico’s awkward sophomore year didn’t happen.

Sophomore year. He had a crush on Will Solace ever since 6th grade, but by the time they got to high school, Nico undoubtedly decided that Will didn’t like him. This was also when he mt Jason, who then led to Percy. All through freshman and sophomore year all he thought about was Percy. It was unrealistic, yes, but isn’t everyone’s first second crush?

And then, yes, he got rejected by Percy which basically outed him to the entire school which would have made him probably transfer in any other situation, but instead he took it as an opportunity to get closer to Will, and eventually kiss him, who thank god liked him back, and by the end of the month they were dating. 

And now here he was, not really paying attention to this drunk Percy while scanning the room for Will. Just as he finally spotted the blonde head, Percy put his arm around Nico’s shoulder. Nico caught Will’s eye at this exact moment, and what happened next was not his fault. 

Will practically ran over to the two, grabbing Nico’s arm. 

“Sorry Percy but we have to go,” Will said quickly before dragging Nico out of the house. 

Nico was relieved to feel the cool night air on his skin, to get away from that loud party which would no doubt be caught soon. 

“Do you still like Percy?” Will asked suddenly.

Nico turned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean do you still like Percy?”

“No, idiot, of course I don’t like Percy.”

“Okay, good.”

“Why do you ask?”

Will sighed, avoiding eye contact “I haven’t seen you two talk in forever, and just the way he stood next to you, with his arm around you? I don’t know, I guess I just panicked. Thought that you still liked him… more than me.”

“Will?” Nico said. Will raised his head, squinting one eye to look at Nico. 

“I liked you first, before Percy. I used Percy as a distraction, because I thought you would never like me, but I’ve liked you ever since 6th grade.”

“Really? I thought you hated me in middle school? The constant teasing?”

“Thats called flirting, sunshine.” 

Will smiled, now looking at his palms and shaking his head, “All this time I could have spent with you and I thought you hated me”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Nico said, taking Will’s hand with one and putting the other on his cheek. “I have you now, and thats all I need. That past doesn’t matter. What matters is.., I love you., Will Solace”

Will’s eyes widened, and for a second Nico cursed at himself for going too quickly. But then, Will pulled him into a kiss, and Nico knew everything was alright.

“I love you too, Nico di Angelo,” he said when they pulled apart, smiling down at him as brown eyes met with blue. A small smile crossed Nico’s face too. This was all he needed. 

So I may or may not have been thinking about that freaking RIverdale thing with the “i love you’s” and Jughead and Betty while writing the ending iudbhskja

Anyway, I actually had a dream that I was Nico di Angelo and I went to a party and fell asleep on a couch cuddling Will Solace which is like the best dream ever but of course I was going to actually do that but I didnt add the party because why not

I have more ideas but I didn’t want to add them all because this was already super long so that can be saved for another fic :))

If you do want me to write another school!au oneshot then I will because like I said I absolutely love school au’s and I have more ideas !!

If not… well I’m sorry you didn’t like it but I’ll probably write some more anyway ;) 

[rosyredlipstick]

Rental Love* (9\10)

(*Read Terms & Conditions)

-

Male/22/Long Island N.Y.C. Tired of showing up stag at holiday events? Want your family to stop thinking there’s something wrong with you? Just want some arm candy for a work event? Look no further. Your solution is here! I will attend holiday events with you as your paid date. Accepting all genders as applicants. Email solace.w@fastmail.com if interested. Interview & application will be set up there. - Nico di Angelo has been telling Hazel Levesque about his boyfriend for weeks. The bad part? Nico doesn’t have a boyfriend, the holidays are coming up, and not all of Jason’s ideas are horrible. They’re all a bit surprised about the last one. Read Part One Here Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight

Nico had always enjoyed breakfast with the group.

Reyna and Drew - with Annabeth now - always insisting on some health food craze Persephone was too happy to accommodate, Leo and Piper getting their fingers hit with Allegra’s wooden spoon as she mixed up the chocolate waffle batter with skilled air, Jason beside Hades, falling asleep onto the older man’s shoulder with Hades only too happy to allow the action. Thalia and Rachel, grinning, as they took quick photos of the younger boy, Hazel giggling from under her hand and Frank’s arm over her shoulders. Percy, a foreign but quickly adjusting presence in their house, insisting on adding drops of blue food coloring to a batch of the pancake batter even as Grover and Juniper outright laughed at him. Even Jules-Albert, usually too busy admiring Hades’s vintage cars, joined them for the morning, following Allegra’s strict orders with swift air.

Nico leaned into Will’s side, Will’s arm thrown over the back of his chair, and felt very warm.

A cup was sliding in front of him, Mitchell grinning down at him, a pitcher of juice in his hands.

“Cute,” He remarked, winking at Will as he poured another glass.

Will smiled in thanks, accepting the glass. Nico’s shoulder, pressed into his side, increased in pressure as Nico leaned in even closer.

Mitchell caught the action and smirked as he walked away, the pitcher still in his hands. Nico tried to keep his glaring to a minimum.

Will caught it too, but said nothing even as he smiled into his drink of juice.

Allegra and Persephone finished up cooking breakfast - Persephone always liked to help out when they had company - and Hades helped serve everyone, a big, happy smile in place.

Hades, Nico had noticed long ago, was always happiest when his house was full.

Jason noticed Nico’s plate, piled with pancakes and, from Will’s insistence, a small pile of fruit. A compromise they had settled on in the past few days.

“What,” Jason’s voice was full of glee, “no Pop-Tarts? That’s a first.”

Vaguely, Nico was thinking of his Pop-Tarts in a way someone might reminisce upon a lost lover. He missed them.

Nico sighed, gesturing towards his plate. “I guess this is somewhat healthier.”

“Pop-Tarts have fruit in them though,” Leo added thoughtfully, “The strawberry ones should be fine.”

Will was clenching at the table, “Oh my god.”

“Right?” Nico was happily agreeing.

Will was glaring at Leo, “Are you where he gets this?”

Leo gave him an innocent look, “Me? Please. We all know who the true leader of the Pop-Tart cult is.”

There was a beat of silence as both Leo and Nico’s eyes slid over to the accompanying person.

“Piper.” They agreed together, the girl giving them no attention as she cut into stack of pancakes. There were a lot of them.

Piper was the true leader of the Pop-Tart love in their group. Nico knew, with incredible certainty, that if someone where to look into her backpack at that exact moment, at least three silver packets would be tucked away in the fabric. She was a true champion like that.

Will’s head fell back to the back of his chair, staring at the ceiling. “You’re all disgusting.

“Pop-Tarts have no good nutritional value.” Reyna was frowning down at them, taking a bite of her yogurt. Persephone had ordered it special for her once they found out she was coming.

Will went practically lax with relief. “Thank the gods, someone with sense. And a will to life.” He leaned forward, “Have they always eaten so incredibly horrible?”

There was a beat of silence, like Reyna was mentally going through their meals.

She chewed through a bite of granola as she did so. “They like to participate in food challenges.” She finally said, Will’s face going pale. “Like those, eat a five pound burger in under an hour and win a meal and tshirt? Yeah.” She shuttered, as did several other people at the table now listening in, “Do you know how many of those food challenges are in New York?” She gave them all a stern look. “A lot.”

“Piper’s the best at them,” Nico added on, “When I had to tap out on that nine scoops sundae one, Pipes just kept going. Totally won too.”

Piper gave him an appreciative nod, holding up her pancake slice in toast. Nico nodded back. They had shared a bond, after that.

“Jason made a tshirt quilt all of our accomplishments,” Leo looked strangely proud, pulling out his phone to show everyone a picture. Persephone leaned in to look closer.

She was nodding in approval. “You kept the edges very straight, very nice.”

Jason blushed, waving off her praise. Jason had worked on that thing for two straight months in their living room - it had been a mess of scissors, fabric, and needles for weeks afterwards.

Will had been still at his side for the past few moments, his face still pale.

“That’s….horrifying.” Will finally got out. Reyna nodded in agreement.

“I went along with them to one of them - tacos, I believe.” Her face went thoughtful, “Jason won that one, I think. 26 tacos.”

“Piper sat out, they were out of tofu.” Jason added on, “She totally could have taken us all.”

Piper smiled, knocking her shoulder into the other boy’s. Their flirting was so weird, sometimes.

Reyna was still observing Will with that look on her face. “You should come along next time.” She said after a long moment, “They usually do it once every month or two. Should be coming up soon. Would be nice to have someone with...sense, as you say.”

It...was coming up soon. They were thinking of doing some burrito challenge Leo had found. It was also planned for the end of January, long after Will would be hanging around.

This was also, strangely, the first time Reyna had ever offered to hang out with, even in a group, one of Nico’s boyfriends. She notoriously disliked most of the guys Nico chose.

Percy perked up from down the table, “That sounds so cool! I’ve always wanted to do that!”

Annabeth wrinkled her nose, “Gross, Seaweed Boy.”

“You guys should totally come next time.” Jason offered, his eyes sliding to Nico’s for a fraction of a second he grinned at them both. “It’s fine, and we could always use more free tshirts.”

Percy beamed at that, grinning slightly.

Nico felt bad, suddenly, that after the mess he’d made in high school, that Nico had gotten most of the friends. Jason, Hazel, and Reyna, of course, and by extension Piper, Leo, and Frank, with Piper and Jason’s siblings.

Percy had never had trouble making friends, no, but there was nothing like the people you grew up with - the ones who saw you through your terrible hair dye phases and still teased you for it.

Maybe it would be good, for both of them, that he was invited to these things again. Percy had always been a good friend, despite it all. And Bianca had always laughed at his dorky jokes, the few times Nico had invited them all over before.

It would be good for them, he thought

They finished eating - Will’s horrified shutters kept to a minimum - and it wasn’t long before their plates were clean, and the conversation slightly lulled.

“What are we doing until the party?” Hazel asked as she began collecting dishes. At the sink, Frank was rolling up his sleeves.

There was a moment of silent as they all thought it over. Last year, they had all relaxed at the pool for a few hours in the afternoon, the year before that they had watched a few movies. There was so tradition for this part. Well, if you didn’t count -

“Everyone else is getting here around seven.” Piper examined her nails, a picture of nonchalance. “We have time, you know.”

Shoulders tensed, eyes flashed, hands clenched. The tension in the room suddenly shot up a few hundred degrees, leaving everyone - all except one - glaring at each other.

“Um,” Will was glancing around, unsure but on edge. It felt like someone was going to suddenly pull out a knife, and they’d all jump in a choreographed fight Will had no idea about. At his side, Nico’s hand twitched towards his side, and suddenly that idea seemed a lot less ridiculous. “What are you talking about? Time for what?”

Reyna, tall and elegant even with a scrap of yogurt at the corner of her mouth, leaned forward to take a long drink of her ice water. All eyes were on her, breath baited.

She finished her sip, leaning back into her chair. “Oh, it’s nothing.” Her eyelashes swept across her chest as her eyes dipped down to the table. After a moment, she was meeting their eyes, her gaze dark and serious through her eyelashes. “Just a snowball fight.”

The air snapped back to its previous tension like a whip. Nico’s knuckles were turning white as he clenched the table.

“Game starts in ten.” Reyna’s announcement was all the prompt they got, and suddenly they were all stumbling to their feet, running to get winter gear and boots and start making their forts before the game began.

“You guys are crazy.” Will let out a breath as they all stood, the words coming out of him like a confession.

Nico’s hand clasped him on the shoulder, mostly just to pull him along as he hurried to grab their coats. “Keep saying that and I won’t let you on my team.”

“Oh?” Will gave him a look, “And what team is that?”

Nico’s eyes flashed, “The winning team.”

“This is insane.” Will was wide-eyed, “You guys get like, entirely too serious about this. Honestly, about everything. Your family is crazy. First, gingerbread house making, and now this. You guys are way too competitive like, to a weird level.”

Nico snorted, “Are you going to keep complaining or are you actually going to help out here?”

Will’s eyes were still a bit wide around the edges as he crouched down to help Nico roll some balls of snow. “Hades brought out a rule book.”

“It’s lamented,” Nico added helpfully, “so the snow doesn’t ruin it.”

“You guys are the craziest family I’ve ever visited, you know.” Will added thoughtfully.

Nico hummed. Hades and Persephone were extra as hell, and his friends were pretty crazy as well.

Will was still speaking, “I...like it. I like your family.”

Nico paused for a second, glancing up at the other boy. “Oh?”

Will was now focused on his task of rolling out snowballs, his eyes glued to the snow. “Yeah.”

Nico cleared his throat, glancing around before standing. “We should go. Um, join the game. Usually everyone’s in the front courtyard.”

Will was silent for a few seconds, his eyes on Nico’s face like he was looking for something there. After a moment his shoulders fell, and when he spoke his voice was quiet. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

Nico lead the way, sticking to mostly creeping behind the trees and piles of snow as they headed towards the front. Beside him, Will’s usual chatter was absent.

Nico felt like, for some odd reason, he’d messed up something back there. Like there was a scripted line, or a choreographed step, he’d totally missed out on.

From the slight curve for Will’s mouth, maybe he was thinking the same thing.

At his left, a blonde ponytail was disappearing around a wall of snow. Nico tensed up, the hold on ammo tightening.

He pulled down Will’s shoulder as he fell to a crotch, his eyes narrowing. After a quick minute of this, Annabeth stood from where she had hidden away, running to the middle of the clearing.

Nico jumped to his feet, his snowball already flying through the air as he got into position. Bulls-eye.

She paused, glaring at him, before dashing off again. Her first or second hit then - the fatal third hit would have had her scowling and stomping away. She had twenty seconds to run off to safety.

“Nice,” Will nodded in approval. Nico’s ignored the bubble of warm that inflated in his chest at that.

The game was intense, as usual. Every step had to be occupied with a careful step - it wouldn’t be the first time they resorted to traps - and a glance over the shoulder. Even Will fell into the tension, his steady hand carrying a tight grip on Nico’s wrist as he guided the other boy forward.

There were a few close calls - almost stepping out in the open when Thalia and Reyna crept by, nearly getting hit as Drew pelted their tree as she ran by.

“Let’s split up,” Nico nodded towards the thinning hiding spots. “I’ll meet you back here in twenty - try and get Reyna out, if you can. She’ll win it all on her own if she has to.”

Will nodded gravely, scooping up a handful of snow as he dashed off. Nico smiled slightly as he ran off.

It was nice, having someone who got into this as much as his friends did, complaints and all. Really, Will had thrown himself into this arrangement. He was....good at this. At being a boyfriend.

Nico supposed he had to be. It was his job.

But was it really?

Really, his job was carefully written out in the folded contract Nico had gotten a copy of. Going along with family traditions, sure. That was one. Three forms of public physical affection, yes. Even playing the part of a boyfriend, someone who knew Nico intimately, yes.

But was participating in an annual snowball fest, as earnestly and seriously as he was, included? Or their midnight talks - so soft spoken - were those? Those grins, those looks, the way Will would trace his fingers over Nico’s skin when they were alone - that wasn’t....Will hadn’t signed up for that.

Nico hadn’t paid for that.

He was thinking this, frozen against the trunk of a tree, all of this, when it kind of came to him.

When he realized that this wasn’t a job. Not all of it. It couldn't be.

Nico was frozen there for a few minutes, a shocked with his revelation, until he forcibly shook himself out of it. He...couldn't think about that right now. Not right now.

He ran away, chasing off one of the girls, unidentifiable under all their winter gear - either Rachel or Juniper from the red curls peeking out from under their hat - but returned to the tree trunk after only a few minutes. Will would be back, and the game over soon. They were all too competitive for these games to last too long. Hiding and talking with Will - they had probably missed most of the action. Nico didn't regret it.

Only a few minutes later, Will was back, breathing a bit heavy, his eyes a bit wide.

"I think I just saw someone, like, die from the force of a snowball." Will informed him, leaning against the tree.

Nico cracked a smile, "Who threw it?"

"Reyna, I think? Hard to tell."

Nico whistled a bit, "That would do it. She was on the softball team in high school. Pitcher."

Will winced, "Maybe I did just witness a death."

"Probably."

Will spoke up at Nico glanced around again - it wouldn't do good to have any sneak attacks.

"It is always this intense?"

Nico shrugged, his gaze still off and away. “We used to have these all the time and they were fun, but most of the time everyone would get bored after a few minutes. But one year Reyna proposed boys versus girls and....” Nico shook his head, a bit incredulous. “It was the most intense game we’ve ever had. Everyone went crazy.”

Will snorted, which should have been unattractive. Nico’s eyes drifted down to his coat, covered in two separate hit marks.

“You’ve been hit twice.” Nico observed.

Will cursed and bent down to make another snowball. “Piper and Thalia got me - they’re out for blood.”

Nico hummed, crouching down to make his own ball of snow. Perfectly round, the snow pure and white.

It looked even more perfectly as it smashed into Will’s back, the snow painting out across his back beautifully.

Nico was smiling sweetly as the other boy turned slowly, betrayal written all over his face.

Will touched the snow on his shoulder, looking down to the melting snowflakes in disbelief. “You…”

“You owed me,” Nico finished for him, still smiling, “Remember? When we made a snowman - sorry, snowwoman - you said I could get a free hit. Remember?”

Will was speechless.

“I think you’re out, sweetheart.” Nico turned and pointed towards the side of the yard, where Hades and Persephone were perched happily, watching the game with hot chocolate and cider. At their feet, Grover sat smiling with a steaming cup, Frank was cheering for someone - probably Hazel - and Drew was frowning with snow in her hair. “You should go join them.”

“I...can’t believe you,” Will told him, blinking. The melting snow started sliding off his back. “We’re dating.”

“Everything’s fair in love and war.” Nico was full on grinning now, his hands deep in his pockets.

Will was glaring at him, “You can take out that love part, I should break up with you right now.”

“Go for it babe,” Nico grinned sunnily and, without giving it much thought, leaned in to peck the other boy on the cheek. In the moment, it felt right. Afterwards...

They both froze almost immediately. In front of him, Will’s cheeks were burning a harsh red not due to the cold weather, and their eyes were matching wide.

“I, uh -” Will stumbled on his words before going quiet, staring at the other boy.

Nico was speechless.

Why...why the hell did he do that.

Will’s cheek had been warm and soft under his lips.

Fuck. That was why.

Nico’s mouth fell open, his breath icing white in front of him. He didn’t know what to say.

A hand shoved at his shoulder, knocking him out of the moment.

“C’mon lovebirds!” Leo was dashing off, throwing a grin over his shoulder. “Don’t just stand around!”

Nico let out a breath, nodding. He turned back to Will, who was still waiting.

Will cleared his throat, “I guess I should go sit with everyone else.”

“Yeah, uh - “ Nico gave him a casual shrug, “Root for me?”

Will rolled his eyes, successfully setting the mood back. “Like I ever would after you betrayed me.”

Nico gave him a soft smile as the other boy turned to head over to the out zone, Persephone and Hades waving happily.

As he walked away, Will’s fingers came up to crush his cheek, still burning red.

Nico noticed this.

And then he promptly forced himself to Stop Thinking about it as he ran off, trying to keep out of sight from the girls team. He could...freak out about this later. For sure.

Will sat there, his eyes following Nico, only cheering when Rachel managed to get him with a snowball to the shoulder, and Thalia with a hit to chest. He only had one hit left.

He dove behind one of the walls - probably made by Frank, he was good at strategy like that - and began rolling up more snowballs. It only took a few minutes of this before he was joined.

Jason was breathing heavy as he leaned against the wall. He and Leo had come running.

“Reyna just got Mitchell out when he pelted Rachel,” Jason informed him, “It’s only us left. Against who?”

“I just got Hazel out.” Leo winced, “I really think she’s going to like, poison me later tonight.”

“Nah, Hazel’s more of a hands-on kinda gal. A stabbing, if anything.”

“Reassuring.”

Another person was diving for shelter under their wall, bringing a flurry of snowballs flying in his wake. It was Percy, barely missing a snowball flying straight for his arm. They all winced.

“Got Juniper,” He was panting, “It’s only Annabeth, Reyna, and Thalia left.”

“Piper?” Jason cocked his head to the side, peeking above their wall to throw a few more snowballs. The girls must be getting a bit too close for his liking.

“Mitchell got her a few minutes ago.” He grimaced glancing over their wall. “It looks like we’re trapped.”

“We’re not going to win this.” Nico informed Jason and Percy as they huddled under their snow wall. Before them, the girls were relentless.

“Yeah, big surprise.” Leo rolled his eyes as he fiddled with the slingshot he’d made with two sticks, some duct tape, and a piece of rubber. Not bad, either. “We haven’t won in three years.”

“This was suppose to be our year.” Jason reflected on, his eyes to the sky even as he rounded out another few snowballs.

“You say that every year.”

“Well, men.” Percy gave them all a fierce look, looking a bit ridiculous in his blue pom-pom hat, bright yellow scarf he’d stolen from Hazel’s closet. “This is the end. But damn it all if we don’t do out with honor.”

“Bro.” Jason was teary eyed.

Percy only nodded gravely, “Bro.”

There was a beat of silence, mostly just a sigh from all of them as they accepted their loss, before Leo spoke up.

“At least I'm going out with my hot piece by my side,” Leo announced, slapping Jason’s ass. Jason blushed sweetly, making both Percy and Nico gag into the pile of snowballs. “Speaking of hot pieces, where’s Will? I thought he was still in.”

“Pelted him in the back as revenge.”

“Oh, nice.” Leo responded, having Nico glance over just in time to watch him pull Jason in a fierce, passionate kiss. Nico sighed in frustration, turning back.

“We’ll go out together. It’ll be like the end of Les Mis but gay.” Leo reflected as he pulled away, gathering all the snowballs he could to prepare.

Nico scoffed as he did the same. “Please, Les Mis was so gay. Read the book.”

Jason gave Leo a strange look, “What do you mean?”

“You know, when that one dude joins Aaron Tveit when he’s about to get all shot up in the barricade and like, they hold hands and die together? It was so sad, you cried.”

Jason was nodding, “I cried a lot during that movie. Remember Anne Hathaway? God.”

“Focus,” Nico hissed, “you guys can talk about this later!”

They snapped back to attention and started gathering all they could carry.

And finally, with their arms heavy with rounded snow, they nodded to each other, stood, and ran.

Predictably, they didn’t last long. Even with their arms overflowing with ammo, they were no match for the combined efforts of Reyna, Annabeth, and Thalia.

They fell with honor - and grace, Leo would add snickering as he poked Jason’s shoulder - Percy would reflect on as they all melted in front of the fireplace. There was still snow in most of their hair, and Persephone had demanded they leave their snow covered clothes in the entrance area, so they were mostly stripped down to the bares, covered in blankets.

Leo was down to his boxers, having simply stripped off his snow painted jeans and sweater. It was a good idea, Nico was realizing as the snow began melting into the fabric of his clothes, setting the cold close to his skin.

They began to break off in bits - most everyone getting up to change into spares of clothes. Finally, Nico picked up his head from where he had comfortably tucked it into Will’s neck. Will gave him a curious look.

“We should go change. Get ready.” He sighed, “We’ll have to help set up for the party soon.”

Will picked himself off the ground first - they had been comfortably curled by the fireplace, nearly the last in the parlor now with the exception of Grover and Juniper dozing on the couch.

He held out a hand, and Nico pulled himself up. Once on his feet, neither of them let go.

Nico gave him a small smile, “Let’s get ready to party.”

Nico wondered, very softly in the back of his mind, if Persephone and Hades even knew what the meaning of simple was.

That’s what they had promised the party to be. And Nico was an idiot for ever believing it.

He should print out the definition and frame it for them - they could hang it up in the living room, in that empty section of wall next to the door. It would be a perfect reminder there, lest they ever forget.

Because this...this was not simple.

He should have known.

Their entire basement had been outfitted for the night - silk ribbons - never streamers, nothing as simple or obvious as streamers but goddamn silk ribbons - hung from the ceiling, along with clear balloons filled with multicolored glitter. The bar was ready, drinking and glasses lined up, and a full catered buffet was along the wall. Large speakers hung from the walls. A live band. There was a candy table, with personalized favors.

A photobooth was in the corner, laughter drifting from the small box. The basement was already decently full, and people were still arriving by the carful.

This. Was. Not. Simple.

Nico only let out a breath, clenching at Will’s hand in his. Will’s eyes were shining at he looked around, his eyes catching on everything and gleaming. Under the different colored lights, Will was grinning like movie, laughing like the best song Nico'd ever heard. 

Okay, Nico briefly reconsidered his stance, maybe it isn’t that bad.

Hazel had invited everyone, it seemed. Every few steps he spotted a familiar face, eyeing his and Will’s entwined hands with interest. Piper, with wicked grin, only waved as they passed, staring at both of them as they walked by. They killed some time like that - Will navigating Nico's friend group and extended like a pro. 

Leo, draped over Jason and probably already drunk, whistled as they walked by. “Looking good, di Angelo!”

“Fuck off, Valdez!” Nico didn’t bother looking over his shoulder for that, settling for a simple middle finger in the other boy’s direction. From the bound of laughter that followed, it wasn’t as effective as Nico had hoped.

Nico lead them around the party, saying hello to most everyone he hadn’t already seen before. He steered clear of the Stoll Brothers, not needing to get involved in whatever they had planned, and eventually lead them over to one of the corners. He needed a break.

Nico winced against the loud music, his hands twitching up. He forced them to his sides, despite the want to cover his ears against the pulse of the bass. It was nearly shaking the walls.

Will leaned in with a concerned look, “You okay?”

Nico nodded, looking away. He didn’t like parties, usually. They were loud, hot, with everyone pressed against him, and he usually had a sensory overload if he stayed too long in the middle of things. He'd have to make up some excuse to escape and calm down in a few minutes. 

Will gave him a look, a steadying hand curling around his wrist. “Follow me.”

Nico was already trying to pull his wrist back, “It’s a party, we don’t have to-”

Will didn’t wait for him to finish, only readjusting his hold and pulling the other boy out of the basement. Nico didn’t argue after they hit the main staircase, climbing up to the second flood.

Another staircase - not Nico’s room then, where he had been expecting.

They hit the third floor, and Will lead him directly into the library, turning on a lamp as he pulled them to a couch. They were alone, of course. No one would be in a library during a party.

No one but them.

Nico fell to the cushioned seat, beyond thankful. Already, his chest was beginning to ease, the cotton in his mind beginning to ease. Parties made him twitchy.

Will settled next to him, his feet curving under him. He settled the blanket from the other night over his legs, leaving out the edge for Nico to curl against. He did so happily.

There was a moment of silence, Will pulling out his phone, and Nico bit his lip, his head clearing up with the silence. He sat up, avoiding Will’s eyes.

“You don’t have to stay, you know.” Nico shrugged, looking away. “I’ll be fine on my own.”

Nico could hear Will’s phone click off. Will shifted his weight, “What?”

“You can go, it’s fine.” Nico waved his hand through the air, “Go have fun. It’s New Year’s Eve. I hear there’s a party downstairs.”

Unsteadily, Nico’s eyes slid to the other boy.

Will smiled slightly at Nico’s lame joke. Nico kind of loved that about him.

“If it’s okay with you,” Will began carefully, “I’d be okay staying here.”

Nico bit his lip again. “The party is always really fun, honestly. I just - I don’t like them sometimes. But they’re fun, really, you shouldn’t miss it.”

Will leaned in, his hand coming up to circle Nico’s cheek. Slowly, so Nico could pull away if he’d want (he didn’t), Will turned Nico’s head to face him head on, his eyes serious but soft.

“Nico,” Will’s eyes dipped down, giving Nico a front row seat of his long eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. Usually, the closer to a person you got, the more flaws you could spot. Oily pores, zits, stray hairs, whatever counted as aesthetically displaying, Nico guessed. But, of fucking course, this didn’t apply to Will Solace. Fucking of course.

Nico could count Will’s freckles, this close. It wasn’t helping his heart.

Will continued speaking, repeating his name. “Nico,” smiling slightly, Will’s thumb traced his jawline. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now then here, in your library, with you.”

Nico swallowed, “Except home, right? With your family?”

Will didn’t look away. “Counting home. Nowhere else, Nico.”

He took a quick breath.

That meant something. They both knew it.

Nico wanted to kiss Will, at that moment. Wanted to kiss him as Nico, a single as hell literature nerd with a crazy family and friend group to match. He wanted to have a first kiss with Will. He wanted that.

A bell tolled right then, making them jump apart, not just ruining the moment - hitting the moment front on, seventy miles an hour, backing it over again as a statement.

Nico was leaning back, letting go of a breath he didn’t remember let build. A smile cracked at the corner of his mouth

Will was glaring at the grandfather clock in the corner, still going off with the hour, and Nico let out a small laugh. The moment was gone.

“It’s ten.” Nico’s eyes slid over to the table as their side, the teal book still in place where he’d left it. “We have some time before midnight. Do you wanna, uh, pick up where we left off?”

Will broke his glare with a clock, nodding a bit eagerly. He resumed his position from before - his head on Nico’s knees, a blanket over his shoulders as Nico rested the book in his lap. A bookmark held their place, and he cracked open the book to resume.

Nico took a breath, his free hand falling into Will’s curls, and began to read where they had left off.

“But first, to Aulis. Aulis, a jutting finger of a land with enough shoreline to beach all our ships at once…”

Will’s eyes were fluttered shut, but he was not asleep. That was obvious from the tear sliding into the corner of his face.

“It’s so beautiful,” he only said, “and they love each other so much. Gods.”

“It is,” Nico agreed, grabbing his bookmark to slid it back into place. They only had a small section of pages left - the ending was coming, soon. Will gave him a questioning look at his action.

Nico nodded to the clock, “It’s almost eleven thirty. We should rejoin the party.”

Will blinked in surprise, “Oh,” He began pulling the blanket off of himself, “You’re right, I didn’t realize.”

Nico agreed - he hadn’t realized the time had passed so quickly. He checked his phone and, predictably, there were a few texts flashing back at him. One of concern from Jason, some suggestive emojis from Leo and Piper, a question of his whereabouts from Reyna. What he expected, basically.

Nico placed the book to the side, standing and stretching. They’d been lying for an hour and a half - his legs were starting to cramp.

Will was staring at he did so, stumbling up to follow his action, but Nico wasn’t turned to see it - it, being Will’s lingering gaze, his bit lip.

Nico only half-turned back, his hand extended. “Coming?”

Will took his hand, and had to resist the urge to reply with something sickly lovesick.

The party was, of course, still in full-swing - probably due to the Red Bull and vodka shots Jason was lining up on the bar counter, in addition to the loud, poppy music. Top 40. Will must be in heaven.

Jason gave him a considering look as Nico came up, handing over a bright blue drink with red cherries, the glass icy and cold. It was sour. Nice.

The other boy cocked his head in silent question, his gaze still meeting Nico’s even as he handed off another drink. Nico nodded, slightly, and both boys accepted that.

Nico wasn’t really a dancer at parties - mostly preferring to observe and become one with the wallpaper, but enjoyed to watch others make a fool of themselves. The Stoll Brothers always had such a nature talent for it.

Will and him finished their drinks at the bar, soaking in the atmosphere of the party.

There were a few more minutes until midnight when he checked his phone, only a few snapchat notifications blocking up his screen. He checked them - all from the exact party he was at, one from Hazel of him and Will taken from a distance only captioned kiss him!!! with a few bubbly hearts drawn around them. He glanced around for his sister, not immediately finding her anywhere, and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Will was smiling beside him, laughing as Leo, now dancing on a table, began stripping to the apparent delight of the crowd. Over the cheering, some were throwing dollar bills. Good. Maybe he’d stop pursuing Nico into paying for their McDonald's. (Which okay, it wasn’t Nico’s fault that Leo was the only person he knew with low enough standards to not mind McDonald’s once in awhile. Or once a week. Or twice a week. Listen he fucking loved trash fast food okay this is over -)

Gods. Will would probably, like, cry if he knew how much McDonald's Nico ate. Nico had the app. He kind of wanted to tell him, just to see what would happen. Something spectacular, probably.

Nico turned to the other boy, maybe to tell him of the Mcdonald’s thing just to see what would happen, but the words died on his lips. Will was a lot closer then he had been expecting. Around them, the crowd was getting more excited.

“One more minute until midnight!” Someone was yelling nearby, nearly drowned out by the pounding music.

“You’ve still got one kiss.” Will’s breath was barely close enough to brush over Nico’s lips, and wasn’t that just sweetest thing Nico had ever tasted, Will’s warm breath, ghosting over Nico’s chapped, reddened lips. He had been biting them, unsure, all day - now they were particularly sensitive.

“Per my contract.” Nico breathed out, his wrists coming up around the other boy’s waist. It felt almost natural, at this point.

The crowd around them was getting even more rowdy by the second and, in time, they began yelling out the countdown.

10

As if perfect choreography, they both took a small twin step forward, their bodies pressed together not by convenience despite the thick crowd, their breathed mixed together by want.

9

Will’s bend down to run his nose up the line of Nico’s throat, and Nico, without thinking, lifted his chin so he could have better access.  

8

Will pressed a small kiss to the under of Nico’s jaw, and Nico’s hand came up to the back of Will’s neck. It fit well there, like it was meant to.

7

Nico’s cheeks burned the color of the scarlet fireworks soon to be lit off in the air, and Will’s lips found a matching tint.

6

Will’s hands came up to cup Nico’s face, soft and hesitant, like Nico was something to be handled with care, like Nico was something that mattered.

5

Nico bit his lip and stared into his Will’s eyes, as wide and open and vulnerable as his own.

4

This part wasn’t in the contract.

3

This part wasn’t planned for.

2

Will’s eyes were the first to flutter shut, but Nico was the first to start leaning in.

1

The entire deck was filled with kissing couples and friends; nearly all tipsy on alcohol bought for the occasion. Percy and Annabeth, of course, were kissing, and probably not stopping soon. Leo was being showered with overdramatic kisses by a few drunken partygoers, one looking suspiciously like Jason, with most of them not even landing on his lips. Piper, rolling her eyes fondly, pulled in an ecstatic looking Stoll Brother. Her brother, on her other side, was attached to the other Stoll brother - neither of them being very distinguishable from only their wild curls.

Hazel and Frank, neither whom were much fans of PDA, shared a sweet, chaste kiss that would have given anyone looking automatic cavities.

Even Reyna, who usually saw herself above things like this, laughed and shared a quick peck with Jason’s older sister, Thalia.

And Will and Nico, with nearly no one around them now, remained pressed together during the next minute. They didn’t seem to notice the countdown ending, or the eruption of literal fireworks blasting over their heads, not even when another couple knocked into them roughly, a rougher apology only following.

They only noticed each other.

Nico was noticing how Will shuttered a bit as Nico pulled on his hair a bit, and the strong lines of the other boy’s chest.

Will was noticing how Nico’s breath would hitch as Will’s hands smoothed over Nico’s chest, and how Nico’s hand tightened on his hips as Will pressed them impossibility closer.

Only each other.

They laid there in bed that night, both still a bit reeling after that kiss, even when they’d been separated by Piper’s sharp laugh, too close, as she teasingly pointed out their heavy necking session. Even when they both awkwardly pulled apart from each other, their movements jerky and unsure, and pretended to enjoy the rest of the party.

Nico, of course, was determined to go about it the correct way – which happened to be completely ignoring what had happened. He had no idea where his phone was – it happened to be tucked inside one of the couch cushions he’d had a minor freak out on afterwards where it would remains for several more hours – but if he had it, he would see the few increasingly drunken texts from Jason, along with one from Leo and a voicemail from Piper, each demanding to know when he’d actually started dating his date-for-hire.

Nico was grateful for the little things, and the fact he didn’t find his phone until tomorrow evening, as he would have thought of nothing else for the entire night, was one of them.

He went about his bedtime routine, refusing even to turn his back to change his shirt despite his burning cheeks, mostly because he hadn’t the night before and he was trying to convince himself that everything was the same as before.

Of course it wasn’t, and Will’s eyes would still linger nonetheless.

They laid next to each other, just as stiff as the first night, and it was horribly silent for a long few minutes as each refused to speak or relax. They both stared at the ceiling, the lighting dim, and felt unsure.

“You know, um.” Will began, “I was just thinking over the contract. It’s so extensive sometimes I forget what’s in it, like one of my political science friends wrote it up for me – I’m really bad with this kind of stuff, you know – anyways, sometimes I forget everything that’s in it and –“

“Will.” Nico interrupted, sitting up and facing the other boy in the dark. “Spit it out.”

“The contract covers holiday events and traditions.” Will blurted out, following Nico’s example and sitting up. “Like, if your family has a holiday tradition I’m obligated to go along with it and everything.”

Nico frowned at the other boy. “Why are you telling me this? You’ve been going along with all our stuff.”

Will sighed, a bit frustrated, mostly embarrassed by gods know what. “It means…” Will hesitated for a second, “It means that the New Year's kiss would be covered by that. It’s like a tradition everywhere, right? So like, it wouldn’t count towards your…allotted amount.”

Nico gave himself a moment to process that. “You’re saying I still have one more kiss left? “

Will bit his lip, looking unsure once again. “Yes.” He seemed to decide. “You still have one more kiss left. If you want it.”

“Oh.” Nico only said, blinking. “Oh, that’s…good.”

Will turned away, focusing on his knees. “Yeah, um, so like if you want another display of PDA for your family. Or, um. We could always do it, um. We could do it now if you want.”

Nico seemed to be in the business of one worded responses nowadays. “Now?” He questioned, his voice high. His mind, short-circuiting, could only think of the fact that he just brushed his teeth.

“Yeah, uh,” Will sounded even more unsure than before, badly covered up by forced nonchalance. “It could, um, help us with our chemistry. So like, they see we’re compatible.”

“Chemistry?” Nico only repeated dumbly, his mind racing.

“Yeah.” Will nodded, seemingly running out of words. “Yeah, uh. Yeah.”

Nico took a moment to gather himself and all the information just thrust as him. “Okay.” He only breathed out after a long moment. “That sounds good.”

They sat there, now facing each other in the dim light.

Nico bit his lip, his confidence from only a few hours ago seemingly left behind in the old year. He leaned forward just a bit, unsure whether to close his eyes, and that queue seemed to be all Will needed.

The other boy leaned in, probably too quickly, and brushed his lips against Nico’s, the movement in itself labeled hesitation.

This was so much different then everything they’d had before – the chaste peck in front of Nico’s family, the teasing kiss for Nico’s friends, different even from the New Year's kiss they’d shared hours before.

This was –

This was what a first kiss was.

Will’s lips were warm against Nico’s, soft and still holding an element of uncertainly as he pulled away, his nose brushing against Nico’s as they stayed in position, both breathing a bit too rough for the modest action.

And Nico considered what would happen next.

They’d pull away, eventually fall asleep to the awkward air. They’d wake up tomorrow and avoid each other’s eyes and go through the day as a couple. They’d pack tomorrow night and be on a plane the next morning. Nico would probably never see the other boy again. Nico would probably never kiss the other boy again.

Nico’s shut his eyes, and Will was still close enough that Nico could feel his breath against his face at every exhale.

If this was the last time Nico was ever going to kiss Will, it wasn’t going to be like that.

He opened his eyes, them alight with a certain determination as he reached out and settled his hand on the back of Will’s neck. He pulled the other boy in, making his last kiss count for something more than the obligation Will had signed away on.

It wasn’t as dirty as before, nor as chaste or as sweet or funny as it ever had been.

It was a kiss where Nico was memorizing the way Will opened up eagerly to him, the way Will lightly bit at his bottom lip, the way Will’s hand automatically came up to mirror Nico’s on his neck.

Will leaned back, taking Nico with him, and pressed back as Nico poured more of himself into the kiss.

Unknown to each other, each boy was desperately trying to seer the memory of the kiss into their minds, desperately accounting for every detail, because each boy was certain it was the last.

They woke up the next morning, avoiding each other eyes, and went about.

At the bottom of the staircase, Will grabbed onto Nico’s hand just as Persephone would sweep into the room, and he’d hold on too tight.

And Nico did the same.

Tonight, they were to pack and separate their clothes and belongings. Will would be packing a new soft, feeling sweatshirt, a carefully folded certificate with a sticker of wax, a small boot shaped mug long since cleaned, along with a horribly ugly neon-haired child’s toy, and tried not to think about how he’d be feeling when he unpacked it.

Notes:

will that's the worst excuse to kiss a boy i've ever heard how dareee you hashtag spoilers for a 150 year old book\musical lol also MORE SONG OF ACHILLES READ IT PLS also hades and persephone will use eVERY OPPORTUNITY THEY CAN to be extra as hell trust me i love family !!!! and friendship!!! wholesome relationships!!! i had to google food challenges for this. have you ever seen the show 'man vs. food'? no? u lucky soul. u lucky, lucky soul. also the midnight nye kiss was maybe, like, the third scene I wrote for this fic. it's been a-brewin' for awhile. next: feelings!!! ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS JFC. CONVERSATIONS ABOUT FEELINGS. EMOTIONS. jfc. almost the end. it's been a crazy, nerdy ride y'all and seriously, i've loved it. thank you thank you THANK YOU for all your incredible support. I started this fic as a really lonely, kinda depressed university student on my own for the first time and now, because of this fic, I'm made a ton of great friends and improved my writing so well. thank you so much y'all for reading or liking or commenting or messaging me on tumblr or following. if this fic helps ya even fraction of what it did for me, even if it just brightens an hour of your day, then I'll count it as a roaring success. thank you. <3.