#social butterfly nico di angelo

[newathens]

im happy about all the attention nico has received over the years but honestly this current fanbase nico is not #my nico di angelo. this extreme nerdification is not real. my nico is weird and off-putting and has a collection of the macabre right next to his limited edition mythomagic gold set and if he’s on a walk with someone and spots a decaying animal they will have to stop so he can speed up the process and add it to his collection of reconstructed animal skeletons. he could have a billion friends in the world, be a social butterfly, and get a tan once and awhile, but he is still my little freak

[incorrect-riordanverse]

Happy birthday! 🎉

Nico and Will hcs please

Thank you and sure thing:

they paint each other’s nails. Nico likes dark colours and Will likes more lighter, sunny ones

Will doesn’t mind getting verbally romantic with Nico, and can and will tell him just how much he means to him at any time of the day, whether they’re by themselves and being intimate, or in the middle of a capture the flag duel.

Nico, on the other hand, gets quite shy and flustered and has more difficulty putting his feelings into words. But he will tell him how wonderful an impact he’s made on his life late at night, when Will is fast asleep, and in Italian so Will has no idea what Nico is saying

Will learns mythomagic so he can play, collect and trade with Nico. He’s terrible at it (always going along with whatever deals Nico offers, no matter how terrible), but Nico appreciates the effort.

Will also learns Italian phrases to impress Nico, but Nico just finds his horrible accent hilarious

Nico spends a lot of time at the hospital with Will. He even picks up on some healing hymns and medical procedures. A lot of the other Apollo cabin members befriend him as well from how much he’s there

Every time some camper comments on how lovely a couple Will and Nico make, Nico gets flustered and defensive about it, but let’s be honest, he likes it.

On the anniversary of Bianca’s death, Will will refuse to leave his side. At first, Nico hated the idea of not being left alone, but slowly, he learned to accept Will’s unwavering support. It’s nice to have a hand to hold and guide you through tough days.

Nico tells Will that Bianca would’ve really liked him.

Those two become an established thing at chb. Kind of like percabeth. They will be seen bickering at any time of the day, Nico will just sit at the Apollo table at the pavilion, or be with Will in the infirmary, or Will would just be seen lecturing Nico about taking care of his health for the 2293819th time, and no one thinks anything of it anymore. They’re just an item of two now. Want to know where Nico di Angelo is? Try finding Will, they’re probably together. Want to assign Will to tour new campers around the camp? Better know Nico will be there to distract him. It’s time to clean out the cabins for cabin inspection? You better bet that Will is working overtime to help the Apollo and Hades cabin out. He can’t have his boyfriend on kitchen patrol when he promised to take him out to the strawberry fields!

Every time Hazel visits chb Will would tell her really embarrassing stories of Nico and she would laugh her ass off. Nico hates it so very much, but Will insists it’s payback on how much he tells Kayla and Austin about him. No matter how mortifying, Nico’s at least happy to see Hazel and Will getting along so well.

Will can be seen sometimes wearing one of the many goth rings Nico owns and Nico can sometimes be seen wearing one of the many colourful bracelets Will owns.

Will is the more of the social butterfly of the duo. Nico tries not to get too protective of him, but if he witnesses someone getting too friendly, well, he’s got an impressive glare saved just for these situations to scare them off.

I see this fandom talk a lot about how Will helps Nico through his insecurities, which is definitely true, but Nico will also be the first person to return that support whenever Will gets insecure anything (most of the time it’s about his combat skills). Nico will be the first to assure him that he isn’t useless just because he’s not the best archer, he’s not useless just because he doesn’t have the prettiest singing voice, and will not hesitate to remind him about all the lives he’s saved, his included. It never fails to work on Will.

[toffrox]

Nightmares

Read on Ao3

Will

"I still can't believe Lou Ellen told you that" Will shook his head at his boyfriend in disbelief.

"Why?" Nico folded his arms, indignant. "We are friends."

Will's head whipped around at that.

"Nico di Angelo, did you seriously just openly admit to having a friend?" He asked. He sounded stunned, though he was grinning.

Nico rolled his eyes and attempted to shrug away, but Will's arm was wrapped firmly around his shoulders. They were wedged in against one another on the floor of Cabin Thirteen, both leaning against the side of Nico's bunk.

The floor around them was littered with Mythomagic cards, junk food and extra blankets. When Nico failed to duck out of Will's grasp he let out a muttered "humph" and leant back against the pile of pillows between them and his bedpost.

"You're impossible" he grumbled.

"What! I am not!" Will laughed, "I'm just proud of you. Such a social butterfly." He pressed his nose against Nico's head and nuzzled teasingly, earning another eye roll from Nico.

"Gross" he muttered.

Will wasn't phased. He could see the way Nico's lips were twitching ever so slightly, giving away his true feelings. Will kept his nose in Nico's hair and brought his hand up to cup Nico's cheek. Nico adjusted slightly so that their eyes met, their foreheads pressed together. Will smiled.

Nico tilted his chin so that they could kiss and Will hummed with pleasure when their lips touched.

The mess of blankets, the flickering light in the cabin and the frantic beating of Will's heart all seemed to melt away as Nico's fingers threaded through Will's hair.

"Nico" Will whispered against Nico's lips. Nico made a soft whimpering sound in the back of his throat that sent shivers down Will's spine.

It was a soft kiss. Comforting and teasing at the same time. Will held Nico close, marvelling for the millionth time at how good it felt to be wrapped up in him. And yeah, maybe also feeling a little smug about how dating someone with a whole cabin to themselves was the best.

"You should stay the night." Nico whispered. Will felt his stomach jolt.

"Really?" He asked, breathless. Nico nodded shyly. "What about… my siblings will notice…" Will said nervously.

"So" Nico shrugged. "It's not like we're doing anything. Just sleeping."

And making out. Will felt his cheeks warm. They were still wrapped up in each other's arms.

"Yeah, Austin's really gonna believe that." Will muttered.

"So what?" Nico said easily. His arms tightened around Will's neck. "I like having you here."

Will gazed down at his boyfriend, marvelling at how comfortable he looked, how open and relaxed.

Will was aware that they hadn't really been friends for that long; just a couple of months. And they'd been dating for even less time. Nico had been through so much, and Will knew there was still a lot Nico hadn't opened up to him about. He always tried to give Nico space; he didn't want to become a crutch for Nico… and yet here he was, telling Will he didn't care what the other campers thought of him, being open about what he wanted… maybe Will didn't need to be quite so cautious all the time…

"You don't have to stay" Nico said softly, worry creeping into his dark eyes. "If you don't want to…"

Will shook his head then, letting himself smile and snuggle down into Nico's arms some more.

"I want to stay" He whispered.

They kissed again, eventually moving from the floor to Nico's bunk. Nico pulled them both under the covers and curled into Will. Their legs tangled together. Nico settled down with his head on Will's chest, both of them smiling.

Nico's eyes had fluttered shut and his breathing had slowed. Will felt himself begin to drift into sleep too, his nose full of the scent of Nico and his chest full of a bubbly kind of happiness that made him giddy.  

—

Will dreamed.

He was standing up on half blood hill, looking down at the camp, bathed in sunlight. There was a gentle breeze washing in from the sea. He could hear shouts of excitement drifting up from the volleyball courts. The sweet scent of the strawberry fields filled Will's nostrils and made him feel calm. He began to walk down the hill and noticed he was barefoot.

He wasn't sure exactly when the dream began to change.

As he approached the bottom of the hill, nearing the forest, he noticed the grass was no longer cool and smooth beneath his feet, but hot and prickly.

The shouts from the volleyball field seemed louder.

Will looked up and noticed that the sky was darkening. The sun had smoldered down into a deep red that stained the horizon.

Will frowned. He looked at his feet and yelped to see the ground was no longer grassy but jagged. He was walking on some kind of riverbed. Except instead of stones or sand his feet were falling onto broken, black glass.

With a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach Will started to realise that the shouts he was hearing weren't from the volleyball court. In fact, it was a single voice. Someone was screaming. Crying. Someone Will knew.

Nico.

—

Will woke up with a lurch.

For a second the dread that had formed in the pit of his stomach remained as Will blinked into the darkness, his brain struggling to locate his surroundings.

Then his senses caught up with him and Will registered the cool moonlight streaming in through high windows, the extinguished torches bracketed against the wall and, eventually, the weight of a familiar form curled up next to him. A form that was twisting and jerking against Will's arms in panic.

Will sat up and pulled back. Nico was still asleep, his face contorted in some kind of pain. As Will's focus shifted to him he had to fight not to reel back at the waves of darkness and fear that were rolling off him.

Will felt his chest tighten in panic. He hadn't witnessed Nico having a nightmare this bad since those first few days in the infirmary. As he fought against the dark aura that seemed to be emanating from Nico he realised that what Will had seen and heard in his own dream must have been a glimpse into Nico's nightmare.

"Nico" Will coaxed, nudging his boyfriend's shoulder as gently as possible. "Nico, you're dreaming."

Nico strained against the hand on his shoulder and Will let go instantly. Nico's face scrunched up and he twisted, moving so his face was lit by the silvery light from outside. Will realised with a painful jolt that there were tears on his cheeks.

"Nico" Will whispered desperately, attempting to swallow his own fear. "Please, wake up."

And then all of a sudden he did. Glassy, dark eyes snapped open and stared at Will for a few confused seconds. Then Nico sucked in a breath and pulled away, curling up in the corner of the bunk and burying his face in his hands.

"No," Nico moaned, his shoulders shuddering. He seemed to be talking to himself, not Will. Will hesitantly touched his fingers to Nico's knee but Nico wrenched himself away, curling in on himself even tighter.

"No, no, no." he mumbled, a bit quieter now, trying hopelessly to keep the tremble out of his voice.

Will stayed where he was, perched on the edge of Nico's bed, his breathing shallow but his heart racing. It took every drop of self-restraint not to reach out for Nico again, but he managed it. He knew Nico needed space.

Nico's shoulders were shaking unevenly. Like he was crying but attempting to hold it back.

"Nico?" Will said. He kept his voice as quiet as he possibly could. "Do you need me to go?" He asked, knowing that his presence was adding to Nico's panic but praying to all the gods that Nico wouldn't say yes. Will knew there was no way he'd be able to walk away from him like this.

Nico jerked his head oddly and Will couldn't be sure if it was a nod or a shake of the head.

"Um," Will began to hesitantly disentangle himself from the twisted blankets. Then Nico's arm shot out suddenly to grab his wrist. Will looked up.

Nico was staring at him, wide eyed. Terrified. Tears still on his cheeks.

"Please stay." He whispered.

Relief flooded into Will with such force that for a second he thought he might cry as well. Instead he finally let himself reach out and pulled Nico to him. Nico curled into his chest. His fingers clutched at Will's collar. Will heard him let out a single sob.

"I'm sorry" Nico said quietly. His voice was muffled from Will's shirt.

"Nico, baby, you have nothing to be sorry for." murmured Will. He wound his arms around Nico's back as tightly as he could, one hand reaching up to stroke his hair.

They stayed like that for several minutes, Nico taking long, shaky breaths until eventually his heartbeat slowed and the tension in his shoulders eased off.

Even then Will's chest ached. What on earth had happened to Nico to make him feel like this? To give him nightmares this terrifying?

Nico still hadn't properly talked to Will about his past, other than to talk about Octavian's death and the almost-loss of Leo.

Will knew bits and pieces of the story from Annabeth and Percy. He knew some parts too from Gleeson Hedge. And he knew that Nico would have to talk about it with him eventually, but he didn't want to push it. It was important to Will that Nico had space to share these things on his own terms. That he had time to look after himself without relying on Will to fix things.

Will hoped he'd made it clear to Nico that he was there to listen whenever Nico was ready. He always made an effort to remind Nico that he wasn't going anywhere; that he would still be here, no matter what Nico had to say.

But they had been dating almost a month now and Nico had never brought it up. And now Nico's past had crept up on them both and put Nico in a position out of his control. Will felt stupid for not having thought about this. Felt ashamed for letting his resolve slip and sleeping in Nico's cabin (so much for giving him space).

Mostly, he just felt worried. And scared at how frightened Nico had been in his dream. How desperately sad he had been when he woke up.

How often did this happen?

What did Nico do when he was sleeping alone?

What if Nico never opened up to him? What would Will do then?

What if he never opened up to anyone…?

—

Nico

Nico took a deep breath with his forehead against Will's chest and then drew back a little, peering up to meet Will's worried gaze.

"I'm ok now." He said quietly. His voice was finally steady.

"Are you sure?" Will frowned.

"Mmm." Nico nodded and released Will's t-shirt from his grasp, moving his hands instead to rest around Will's waist, his fingertips grazing the small of Will's back.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" asked Will. His voice was still soft, careful.

"Not really…" Nico said. He closed his eyes to avoid the way Will's eyes were searching his face. His stomach was still uneasy; he could feel leftover queasiness from the dream about Tartarus.

He knew that it wasn't fair of him to keep avoiding telling Will about this stuff; this wasn't what Will had signed up for when Nico asked him to stay the night… But he just couldn't face thinking about the dream again.

Will sighed."You do talk to someone about this stuff… right?" He prompted gently.

Nico opened his eyes to see Will chewing his lip nervously.

"Of course." Nico said. "I've been talking to that doctor in New Rome over iris message."

Will blinked in surprise.

"You have?" He said.

"Yeah, every week."

At the end of Nico's three day stay in the infirmary, Will had spoken to Nico about the doctor in New Rome (it seemed like years ago now, back when he and Will had barely spent any time together and Nico was still uncertain about whether or not he'd made the right decision to stay at camp). Will had told him that the healers from Camp Jupiter had recommended the doctor for campers who had been on difficult quests. 'It might help,' Will had told him.

"How has that been?" Will asked him now.

"It's good I guess…" Nico shrugged, his voice still quiet. "I don't want to leave camp anymore."

"But you're still having nightmares…" said Will.

"Yeah"

"How often?"

"Will" Nico pulled away slightly, frowning.

"Ok, I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it." Will said hurriedly, tightening his grip around Nico and attempting (poorly) to cover the worry in his eyes. They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"I'm just scared, Nico." Will whispered eventually.

Nico flinched. Of course he was scared…

"I'm sorry." Nico hung his head as he spoke, but Will was already shaking his head.

"No, not like that." Will brought one hand up to cup Nico's cheek. "I'm scared for you, Death Boy. I'm scared because you're hurting. And I'm scared that you think that you deserve it. That's all I'm scared of."

His voice was so gentle. Nico's chest ached. He closed his eyes again.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew all the worst things I've done." He said.

Will tightened his hold on Nico and pushed their foreheads together.

"There's nothing you could tell me that would scare me more than the thought that you might never tell me those things" he said.

"Why?" Nico frowned.

"Because I worry that you're hurting yourself by not telling anybody."

Will sounded almost as pained as Nico felt. Nico scrambled for something he could say to comfort him.

"Reyna knows." he said quietly.

"That's good." said Will, sounding equal parts relieved and concerned.

Nico opened his eyes and studied Will's expression carefully. Soon, he knew, he was going to have to share his past with Will. As much as he hated the idea of reliving it… and as much as he worried what Will would think of him afterwards… he knew that he couldn't hide this part of himself forever. He didn't want to.

"I'll tell you one day…" he assured.

"I'd like that." Will smiled.

And Nico thought of Ahklys and of Cupid. He thought of Bryce Lawrence and the looks of horror on Coach Hedge and Reyna's faces when they recounted what Nico had done to him…

He thought of those things as Will smiled.

No you won't.

[octa0w0ian]

hot take about nico di angelo: he was the most relatable character in the whole series for me (ya know? italian, not straight, not exactly a social butterfly, loves his sibling, fucks everything up every once in a while), but then there's two things that made me... kind of not relate to him anymore??? because he was no longer the nico I knew and loved????

NOT SAVING OCTAVIAN. like I know y'all can't trust me with octavian-related stuff because I Would Die For Him, but bitch I thought nico was a very very good person after all. I thought he believed in second chances. I thought he was pretty much everything except a selfish guy. idk it just doesn't sound right to me??? nico letting someone kill themselves, even if they're enemies etc?? he could have just caught him, there were like a lot of people just... staring, around. a clever strategic move and octavian was trapped AND not dead.

solangelo is hell but everyone already knows what I'm talking about so I'm just gonna shut up and only mention this

also you know something sad? nico, as a name, doesn't exist in italian. what's his FULL name??? nicola? niccolò? nicodemo??? I want fucking answers do you want to explain to me where you pick your names because I'm still here not knowing nico's full first name and octavian's surname after 84 years

[imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch]

I Love You, You Pay My Rent: Prologue

Summary

When Nico finds himself in need of an apartment he meets professional rich-person, Will Solace who, for long and complicated reasons Nico is sure are never actually explained to him, has found himself in need of a roommate. At first Nico is reluctant: Will seems happy-go-lucky, cheerful and positive – everything he is not. And frankly, if he hears Will’s in-the-shower cover of Don’t’ Let the Sun go Down on me one more time he’s not going to be responsible for the consequences. But Will is offering to pay Nico’s rent and Nico can’t exactly turn down an offer like that no matter how much Will’s singing and incessant cheer might annoy him…

Prologue 

Nico Di Angelo honestly wasn’t sure when or where he first met Will Solace. It might have been when he was working a late-shift at a bar downtown. Will (though there was a good chance it hadn’t been Will at all) had come in with a group of friends who were every bit as bubbly, attractive and incessantly cheerful as Will himself was. He vaguely remembered someone blonde and sunshine-like chattering as they ordered shots. Of course, that could also have been any other of Will’s friends. Nico would freely admit he hadn’t really been paying attention, not to the face and certainly not to the words. He tried as hard as he could not to pay attention to his any of his customers, no matter how much his complete disinterest annoyed his manager. 

It was quite possible that the first time they had met was in Nico’s cafe. It wasn’t in any legal-ownership sense of the word actually his, but it was a short walk away from his old apartment, was reasonably quiet and had a strong wifi connection so Nico had adopted it as his own. He’d been trying to research places to rent: he’d been sharing with Leo (tiny, scrappy, latino, and a constant fidgeter) but then Leo had met Calypso (pretty waitress who worked at a cake shop and did the gardens of people who actually had space for a garden) and the two had decided to go on a soul-searching trip around the world and/or open up a café slash garage. That left Nico with either finding someone to go halves on the rent, or finding a new place to stay. Both options seemed like a circle of hell designed especially for him, but he’d eventually decided to just try and find somewhere new since interviewing potential roommates was more than he could bear. 

He’d been enjoying a cup of black coffee, the quiet, and the wifi which allowed him to cry at rental prices on one of the many old laptops they had lying around that Leo had got tired of jury-rigging or tinkering with. Then the door had opened and in stalked a bunch of people who were so self-aware of their own beauty and good fortune that they created a kind of vortex of wealth and power that forced others to look at them so they could be simultaneously awed and jealous. The group were followed by a gaggle of interested onlookers and hangers-on, mostly star-struck girls in their teens and early twenties, but there was the occasional guy too, presumably for variety and so that the couple of girls in the group had someone to show off for.  Nico wasn’t at all interested in sticking around so he’d packed up his laptop and left. He’d brushed past someone tall and blonde on his way out and he’d briefly wondered if he’d just walked into Will Solace but he was tired, irritable and frankly didn’t care enough to check. 

The first time they met could equally have been at one of Percy’s many parties. Percy Jackson was the son of one of his dad’s two business partners and as such the two of them had often been thrown together while growing up. Nico had had a painfully painful crush on Percy for the majority of his teenage years and though he was positively and completely over Percy, for sure, it was difficult seeing him and his long-term girlfriend together. Annabeth was perfect for Percy in every way that Nico wasn’t, and he knew now that dating Percy would never have worked out. He had begun to focus on some of Percy’s faults and, almost two years after he and Annabeth had gone off to college together and Nico had had to accept they weren’t going to do the decent thing and split up, he was able to be in the same room as him without thinking thoughts better suited to moody poetry written by the moody-trash-teen he knew he still was at heart. 

But Percy was his first crush. And being around a very drunk Percy was often about as fun as having teeth pulled. A very drunk Percy usually went between PDAs with the long-suffering Annabeth, telling Nico how he was the luckiest guy on earth to have such a great girl put up with him, and telling Nico he was the luckiest guy on earth to have such a great friend because Nico you’re just, you’re like the little brother that I like, never had, man. It was probably selfish but at times like that Nico did not want to be Percy’s friend. And even now when he was pretty sure he was almost 100% over Percy Jackson there was still a little part of him that still hoped. It was a pathetic part of him prone to mooning about his room and hopeless daydreams but it was a part of him nonetheless no matter how much he wished it would shut up and let him move on. The only saving grace (ha!) of that particular party had been Jason, the son of the other business partner and as such the other kid he’d been frequently thrown together with. Jason was at college over in LA and his trip back to the city had been short and whirl-wind and the only reason Nico deigned to turn up at Percy and Annabeth’s apartment at all. No matter what people said, Nico wasn’t anti-social as such. He just preferred his social in careful measures, and not all at once. That was not at all possible at Percy’s. He was accosted by several of Percy’s friends within thirty seconds of him walking through the door. Nico had tried propping up the wall and putting on his emo-teen-don’t-talk-to-me-loner-aura but either he was getting worse at projecting the leave-me-alone vibe, or Percy’s friends were getting friendlier. Or drunker. One of the two. Quite possibly both. Jason hadn’t yet arrived and Nico wasn’t going to leave until he said hi and bye and why did you make me come? So, he’d tried hanging out in the bathroom where the door had a lock (and if anyone wanted to throw up they’d just have to do it in a bin or something and that was the price Percy paid for having Nico here).

He had been surprised to find there was already somebody in there: lying in the bathtub so still that for a moment Nico thought that someone had been murdered. He was envisioning scenarios of him, Percy and Jason trying to pretend this person was still alive until they found a way to identify and then dispose of the body, when the dead person moved slightly proving themselves not dead after all. He had an arm over his face so Nico couldn’t make out any features. He did see a mop of blonde hair and so when his half-sister Hazel texted him the next day if it were true that William Solace, professional rich-person and minor celebrity, had been at Percy’s party Nico had shrugged and said possibly and that there was a chance he’d met him in a bathtub. Admittedly Percy had had lots of blonde friends and most of them looked alike, so really it was far more likely that that wasn’t Will at all, but it had made for a good story and Hazel (admittedly the only person he’d told it to) had enjoyed it. 

The first time Nico could actually remember meeting Will for sure, was when Will had intercepted him on his way to the library. The first thing he could recall was bumping into someone very solid and then there was the impression of tanned skin and a constellation of freckles and very, very blue eyes. His stomach exploded into butterflies and he was simultaneously disgusted in himself for being so weak and clinically interested in his attraction to someone who a) wasn’t Percy, and b) was so stereotypically stunning that he should have been boring (and not at all interested in stopping Nico in the street and babbling at him but that was a different matter entirely).Nico had stepped back automatically and regarded the individual. He was tall and yep, he had golden blonde hair and a nice smile. He was also notably happy, like someone had distilled down the sun and poured it out into one golden person.  

Nico was taking a moment to decide whether he should dislike him on principle, when it occurred to him Sunshine was dressed all in black (which wasn’t all that strange to Nico considering his own dress), and had dark make-up smudged over his cheeks (which kind of reminded Nico simultaneously of a raccoon and his own early and disastrous attempts to operate eyeliner). 

“Is this one of those dumb hazing things?” Nico asked. Will looked too lazy to play sport, though Nico was pretty sure he was fit enough to excel if he’d wanted. Nico struggled not to look at the outline of his shoulders or the suggestion of abs that were hidden beneath a dark top that was just tight enough to hint at his physique but not tight enough to confirm it. Instead he focused on attempting to communicate how stupid he thought Will’s get up was, and consequently how stupid Will himself was, through only his eyes. 

“It’s supposed to be a recon simulation or something. I’m blending in with the shadows or whatever.” 

“Your hair is bright gold. And it’s 2pm. The sun is up. You are not blending in with anything.” 

Will studied Nico for a moment and then shrugged. “Mostly I’m just relying on my friends to distract the other guys so I don’t have to.” 

Nico thought that Will was perfectly distracting on his own what with the way the sun glinted through his stupid golden hair and his eyes sparkled cheerfully. And Nico’s lunchbreak was only half an hour and he had to return some books on behalf of one of his friends who actually attended the university. And Will might have perfect abs (probably) but that did not entitle him to Nico’s library-book-returning-and-quick-sandwich break. 

“Whatever.” he said, sidestepping Will. “I need to get to the library. I’ll see you around or whatever.” 

He began to walk off. He could hear a voice in his head (it sounded like Jason) telling him that a cute guy was paying attention to him and that he should at least get the cute guy’s number. Nico was good at ignoring Jason, and even better at ignoring the Jason who resided in his head and gave him advice like: don’t stay up all night watching Netflix, don’t eat all that ice cream in one go, and broccoli will be yummy if you eat it enough. He was also good at self-sabotage. It was one of his only talents.

“Hey,” Will said, falling into step with a very surprised Nico. “You’re Nico right?” 

Nico had to stop himself from stopping dead because attractive, famous, arguably talented (Will presumably did something other than being attractive) guys didn’t usually know his name, let alone stop him in the street and attempt a conversation. 

“Are you stalking me?” Nico asked. “Because that would be a lot more effective if you didn’t stand out so much.” 

“No, not stalking I swear. Though I’ll admit this probably does look a little creepy.” Will gave a self-conscious shrug as though the concept that randomly stopping a stranger in the street might be classed as creepy had only just occurred to him. 

“Percy mentioned you,” Will continued. “He says you were looking for somewhere to live.” 

“Percy talks way too much,” Nico commented vowing to slowly kill Percy later the interfering little –

“Yeah, he kind of does,” Will agreed easily. “Look, I know this is really out-of-nowhere but I’m of looking for someone to live with me and that’s why Percy said I should talk to you and I guess I just assumed he’d mentioned me to you and I’m just now thinking I could probably have approached this better –“

“You think?” “I looked out for you at Percy’s party the other week? He said you’d be there.” 

“Percy is a traitor and whatever he’s told you about me it probably isn’t true.” 

Will raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re not looking for somewhere?” 

“Okay,” Nico admitted grudgingly. “That part was true.” 

Will regarded Nico thoughtfully and then pulled a slim notebook out of his pocket, followed by a lime green sharpie. He scribbled something down , tore it off, and then held it out to Nico. “You don’t have to decide now, but at least take my number. The offer is there if you can’t find anywhere else.” 

Nico thought that over for a moment. On one hand, he was loathe to start living with one of Percy’s friends on Percy’s suggestion because while Percy didn’t have a terrible taste in friends as such, they did tend to be very full on. On the other hand, Will had really beautiful eyes and he could pull off a puppy dog expression far too well for a grown adult individual. 

He took Will’s number. He didn’t have to text him. He could always throw away the scrap of paper after Will left. He wasn’t weak and he didn’t have a new-found appreciation for blue eyes and smiles that felt like the warmth of the sun.

In the week following his meeting with Will, Nico had been desperately trying to find somewhere to live but everywhere was either too expensive, wasn’t habitable, or was co-inhabited by someone creepy (one who apparently hadn’t needed to blink and could outstare a statue, one who was weirdly into Nico, and one who collection of antique dolls and medical tools through the ages). He rejected everything on offer and told himself that something would come along. 

It was only as he watched Leo begin the process of packing that Nico realised he had to make a decision. And Will was (probably) better than the doll and medical tools guy. He’d kept a hold of the scrap of paper but hadn’t input Will’s number into his phone because that had seemed like admitting defeat. Now the innocuous bit of paper seemed to follow him around everywhere he went, taunting him. It didn’t need to. Nico had the numbers memorised from all the times he’d stared at it in indecision. He could reproduce it from memory: the slightly swirly zeros, the weird way Will crossed through his sevens and the oddly skinny eight. 

He’d spent an hour agonising over the text he would send: adding and deleting emojis and rewriting and rearranging words. In the end when he was almost ready to give up and settle for creepy-doll-guy, he went for simple and to the point. The fact he got a reply within seconds full of emojis and apparently brimming with excitement made him resentful he had spent so long crafting the text. He was pretty sure Will would have reacted with the same nauseating good natured-ness no matter what he’d sent. They’d arranged a time to meet and now after a grand total of one to a possible four meetings with the guy, Nico found himself standing outside an unfamiliar door that could potentially be the door to his new home, waiting for Will-freaking-Solace to answer. 

He knocked again, louder this time then pressed his ear to the door. He thought he could hear singing. He knocked once more, deciding that is Will didn’t come to the door in thirty seconds he was going to give up on the whole thing. 

He was at twenty-eight when without any kind of warning the door swung open and Will was there. He was sans make-up this time. His blonde hair was damp, sticking up in little clumps and he was in an old pair of sweatpants and a tshirt. He grinned at Nico like Nico was the best thing he’d seen that year and opened the door wider, stepping aside to let him pass. 

“I’m so sorry,” he said as Nico entered. “I had to take a shower. I was walking Drew’s dogs because –“ 

Nico tuned him out in pure self defence against inane babble, and glanced around the apartment instead. The living space was open plan and big, far bigger than the place he had shared with Leo. The kitchen was clean and the combined living and dining areas  were neat and well decorated though they did seem a little impersonal: he’d thought Will would be the messy type, and the type to have knick knacks and trinkets and momentos cluttering every available surface. There were a couple of posters – stylised framed images of posters for theatre shows -  but he couldn’t tell if they were Will’s or whether they had been part of the furnishings when Will had moved in. 

Will showed him around. Aside from the living areas there were two bedrooms, a small study that seemed largely unused and a laundry room. Will’s room was gloomier than Nico had expected with the curtains fully drawn, and was significantly messier than the communal areas (that wasn’t hard) though it still had the same odd sense of almost clinical detatchness. Still while it didn’t exactly go with his mental picture of Will it wasn’t all that strange in of itself: perhaps Will just hadn’t been living there very long. The other room – Nico’s room – was slightly smaller, squarish and had an attached bathroom. There was a double bed, good closet space and a hefty set of drawers for storing the clothes he couldn’t be bothered to hang and the rest of his junk. It was a surprisingly decent room in a surprisingly decent apartment. 

After the tour Will asked if Nico wanted anything to drink in the manner of someone determined to be a good and attentive host. Nico wasn’t going to pass up the offer for free anything so he sat the breakfast bar while Will made him coffee. 

“What do you think?” Will asked. His eyes were very earnest as he poured out Nico’s drink, but he seemed to be avoiding Nico’s gaze. He looked almost nervous, tugging at the hemline of his tshirt and distracting himself by adding ten tonnes of sugar to his own mug. 

“It’s tolerable,” Nico said. 

Will looked up at him in surprise and gave him a small smile. It wasn’t his mega-watt supernova bright grin and somehow it was all the more attractive for how understated it was. Nico almost found himself smiling back. 

“So do you want to move in?” Will asked. He still seemed nervous, hesitant. He was employing the puppy dog eyes again – Nico wondered if Will even realised he was doing it. 

“How much do you want?” Nico asked. 

“Oh I don’t need anything,” Will said with an easy shrug that looked far more like his usual confident self. 

“Huh?” Nico said unintelligently. 

“You don’t have to pay. I don’t need anything.” 

“But you said you needed someone to –“ 

“I do,” Will admitted. “But I don’t need the money.” 

Nico gave him an odd look. “You’re not some kind of criminal are you? A murderer who needs me around so you don’t give in to the urge to kill?” 

“You’re kind of dark, you know that?” 

Nico raised an eyebrow sceptically at that. 

“Really Sunshine?” he asked. “You’re only getting that now?” 

Will giggled, actually giggled, and it was oddly endearing. 

“How about a trial?” Will suggested. “Two weeks. If you still think I’m a murderer after that I’ll let you go and won’t kill you at all. I promise.” 

Nico stared at him. On one hand, the situation was a little weird and he’d only just met Will and this was all kind of impulsive. On the other it was hard to imagine Will killing anyone. Besides Nico worked two jobs and still had barely made enough to keep up with his rent at Leo’s. If he moved in with Will, he would be close to his jobs and close enough to Percy that if he ever had an attack of sociability he could visit him. Hazel was nearby. The shops were nearby. It was pretty much perfect if only he could put up with Will, and how much he talked. 

“Three days,” Nico said. “I think by then I’ll have figured out whether you’re a murderer or not. And whether I’m likely to murder you or not.”

Will’s eyes flicked up to his. He looked excited, happy, so cheerful, but Nico also thought he saw relief there. 

“Deal,” Will said.  

Next Chapter 

[hallow-kalixy-blog]

cofee Hamliton x Laruens

Alexander started his day like any other. he grabbed his phone, silences all his alarms, throws on a sweater, grabs his computer, and leaves. His hair was a tangled mess, brushed only by fingers. The man looked lifeless, the cause being his habit of staying up hours past midnight.

He had an ace bandage wrapped lazily around his left wrist, a few hair ties on his right. His hands were twitching ever-so-slightly, and it was evident that he wanted to type something up immediately. His shoes, worn down and screaming to be replaced by newer ones, were barley tied

This was the man who had so many opportunities displayed in front of him due to his high level of intelligence. This was a man who shoved all those opportunities to the side. instead, Alexander became cashier at a local clothing store. It wasn’t too bad of a job, but compared to most of the offers he got, it wasn’t the “best.”

Alexander walked out of his apartment building as quickly as he could have, avoiding conversations like a professional. He was doing a good job, avoiding everyone that tried to talk to him. Until the Schuyler trio appeared.

Peggy, the youngest of the three, ran up to Alexander first, followed by Eliza, and finally, Angelica. Each sibling had their own special introduction, almost like it was a musical of some sorts.

“Angelicaaa!”

“Elizaaa!”

“And Peggy!”

The three joined hands, Peggy in the middle, each one smiling. It was an attempt to get Alexander to be more optimistic. “you do know that’s not gonna work right?” He turned to face the three, refusing to give them the smile they wanted so desperately. Eliza pouted, letting go of Peggy’s hand. “Angelica said that you liked musicals! They stayed up all night coming up with something catchy...” 

Angelica sighed, their arms crossing. “i can’t believe you, Alexander. I stayed up all night and i still can’t be satisfied.” Alexander was about to speak, but Peggy started first. “Yeah, Alex. That’s super rude, spelled with two zero’s.”

Alexander sighed, knowing very well that if he didn’t comply with the three would annoy him the entire time. So, the miserable man smiled. The three joined hands once again, their conversation following Alexander all the way to the coffee shop.

“Guys, come on. Mornings are for coffee and contemplation, not for your shenanigans.” Alexander’s fake smile dropped as he held the door for the three. “Also, Peggy, pronouns?” They turned around, tapping the yellow gemstones on their necklaces. Alexander gave them two thumbs up and walked away to a table for himself.

A nice spot by a window, was close to the left side of the building. There was a couple somewhere behind him, and a group of friends right next to him. It was a lively place, everyone smiling and enjoying their company. For Alexander, it was just a place to wake up and waste his life away. 

And so he begun. He opened up his laptop, and typed away furiously. Something about being in a Barstucks and the soulmate spilling coffee all over them. He began thinking about how cliche that plot sounded, but as he typed it out, it looked quite intresting.

Across the room, a man about average height, with freckles covering his face, made his way to the duo behind Alexander. Peggy turned around and noticed the guy first, and recognized him as someone who has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. Angelica recognized him as a possible friend. a social butterfly. Eliza noticed him as a possible soulmate for a furious bisexual friend of hers.

As Alexander tapped on the keys as he thought about what to write next, the man with the coffee tripped over the air. Coffee was everywhere. All over Alexander, his computer, the table, even the chair. 

The one responsible for this looked around everywhere for something to clean up his mess with. Alexander just stared in disbelief at his, now broken, laptop. “Oh. My. God.” At this point the entire shop was dead silent. Until Alexander decided to open his mouth.

“Are you actually joking right now?” 

The man in front of him gasped and kept opening and closing his mouth, looking for words. Alexander sighed, reaching for napkins. Suddenly, Eliza made an inhuman noise and furiously pointed at the man’s wrist.

“Look! Alexander, take those bandages off!”

upon being called out, Alexander looked up at his friend, his face clearly expressing frustration and confusion. “um, no thanks.” instead, the beautiful human being in front of him slowly looked at his wrist.

“Oh.” He sighed and murmured something to himself about mistakes and how embarrassing this was. Alexander was struggling to clean his keyboard, his hands shaking, and his face red. “let me help you, love.”

“What?”

“Oh right, I’m your soulmate.”

Alexander nearly fell of his chair upon hearing that. “You smooth piece of shit.” His face was an unbelievable shade of red, making his soulmate grin. “You look adorable when you’re embarrassed.”

“Stop flirting with me. You may be my soulmate but you just spilled coffee all over me, okay?” The man was taken aback from his comment. But, he did have a point. “Sorry ‘bout that. My name is John Laurens, by the way.”

“I really don’t think that’s relevant right now, buddy.” Alexander set down his fistful of napkins and slowly unwrapped the bandages around his left wrist. and sure enough, the numbers were not moving. “So Laurens, it took you 19 years, 9 months, 27 days, 17 minutes, and 13 seconds for you to meet me,” he closed his laptop, and looked right into John’s eyes “and you do it by spilling coffee all over me?”

This does not be long to me i am doing this for a wattpad user and every time she updates i will put it on tumblr i will make my own story that has the same plot but later on. love ya @the-nightmare-gamer @nico-di-angelo-pjo-hoo