i am aware that i havent published anything in a long time, but i wanted to get something out. im much more active on ao3 now too. there should be a link there on my profile. title is a song by the strokes. im not sure if disclaimers are a thing anymore, but anyways: i dont own the pjo/hoo series and im not rick riordan or else i would have written a better ending to the blood of olympus. happy readings/

Will Solace had a way of dispelling the anger out of other people. His calming aura combined with the gift from his father made him a brilliant healer, with both physical and mental scars. Even so, the grumply son of Hades under his wing had come out of the infirmary three days later still very angsty and abrasive. However opposing Nico and Will were, the tiniest sliver of friendship had made it's way to the duo.

It had started with the nightly bonfire at Camp Half Blood. Will had first insisted he come and sit with the Apollo children during the event, "for the singing." He decided to not mention the part that Will cannot sing, and that the bonfire was not segregated by your divine ancestry. Nevertheless, he sat between Will and Kayla, another kid of Apollo.

Nico hadn't experienced a bonfire at Camp Half-Blood in a long time, and was shocked at how normal it felt. Nobody was paying attention to the gloomy son of Hades, rather diverting their attention to roasting marshmallows or singing along to the current song.

When it was over, Chiron telling the campers to pack it in for the night, Will had lead-or rather followed- Nico back to the door of Cabin Thirteen.

Will sighed "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Nico nodded.

And just like, that it became routine.

Every night, Nico and Will mutually abandoned whatever they were doing to meet up at the fire. They always sat beside each other, took turns roasting marshmallows and hotdogs. And Nico enjoyed it. He felt Will's calming voice beside him, singing quietly to whatever tune was being chorused out by the other campers.

Nico had felt himself being lulled asleep by the almost lazy atmosphere one night. It was a cool evening, with warm breezes of air and the heat of the fire to keep warm. The slow song being sung by a majority of campers, the noises crackling and sparking coming from the firepit, and Will's warm body pressed considerable close against Nico's made for such a comfortable setting that he felt his eyes close and his head loll onto Will's shoulder.

Some time later, he half-woke up with one of Will's arms wrapped around him, rubbing his hands down the side of his arm.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, you fell asleep." Will quietly voiced. No way Nico wanted to reply, but he was too tired to speak. "C'mon, I'll take you back. Stand up."

He felt Will support and pull him up, and then drag him in the direction of Cabin Thirteen. Reaching the closed door, he fumbled to open it, but still managed to get it open for his fatigued friend. Letting Nico drop onto the mattress of his bed on his back, Will took it as his chance to remove Nico's shoes one by one. Once that was over and they were neatly tucked by the front door, he reached to undo the button on Nico's jeans, when Nico suddenly sat up. His face read an expression of "What are you doing?!"

When Will simply replied "It's unhealthy to wear pants that tight, Sunshine. Especially when you're about to go to sleep"

Nico shot him a death glare, pulling his legs to the other end of the bed with his back turned to Will. Fumbling for a few seconds, he pulled off the black jeans he was wearing, balled them up, and threw the into Will's face. He shot the son of Apollo another glare, this time interpreted as "Happy Now?"

"Very much. Now go back to bed." He then quoted some medical textbook: "The average teen needs eight and a half to ten hours of sleep every night to stay healthy."'

Nico just waved his hand in a gesture of good night, while grabbing the covers on his bed and pulling them over his head and laying down.

Eventually, summer left them, which meant it was time for Will to head back to his home to see his Mom. On the last night of the bonfire of the year, Nico didn't mind that Will was holding his hand the entire time. When the pair stood in the archway of Hades' Cabin, they both turned to face each other.

"So, uh, til' next year?" Nico said solemnly. Will looked pretty distant to, like his mind was elsewhere. The blond had started to absentmindedly swing their connected hands back and forth, like a pendulum. Slowly, Will began to speak.

"I had a nice time with you this summer, Sunshine."
Sunshine. It had started out as a sarcastic nickname, but Nico found himself not minding it at all. Will continued "I mean, besides the huge Gaea fiasco, and stuff, you were a highlight to this year."

Nico's throat felt dry, he needed a glass of water. He could hear other campers milling around, not paying any mind towards the duo standing holding hands at the entrance to the Hades' Cabin. Nico wanted to say something, about how yeah, I had a good summer too. All he could force out of his mouth though, was a croaky "Ditto."

Nico had become accustomed to hugs. Whenever he had been around Hazel or Reyna, the girls had managed to always pull him into one, albeit with slight discomfort. Nico always managed to at least pat them on the back, and quickly pull away.

Although having previous experience, he didn't know what to do when Will had pressed himself into his shoulder, his tan arms wrapping around his back. The black haired boys mind went reeling and skeletal butterflies started to resurrect once again in his stomach. He could feel Will's arms on his back, the yellow head dipping down into the juncture between his arm and his neck and the steady puffs of breath released every second. Nico had just enough sense to wrap his arms around Will, feeling the tightness of his orange t-shirt with his hands. The embrace lasted what seemed like forever and shot out of what would be considered platonic territory.

Considering that all good things must come to an end, Will had pulled away from Nico. His cheeks were red, and Nico could tell that his probably were too. But then Will smiled at him, a lopsided grin on his face while taking a step back from the slightly flustered Italian.

"I'll come wake you up tomorrow if you're not already up to see you before I leave." Will's voice gained confidence with each word spoken. "Night, Sunshine." Will grinned down at him.

Before Nico knew what he was doing, the Italian went on the edge of his feet and kissed him on the cheek.

If Nico wasn't blushing from the hug, he definitely was now. Will felt red too. There was a pause of silence before the still night was cut short by Nico's frantic apologizing

"Sorry! Sorry! It's-It's a thing I do! It's like an Italian thing. You-You've seen me do it to Hazel, right? It's a common thing! Sorry." Nico had continued on with his panic-stricken monologue, occasionally stuttering out different rapid explanations with his arms swinging all over like one of those inflatable tube man's. He was stopped suddenly when Will, with his inherited reflexes, reached over and grasped both his hands, effectively shutting Nico up.

Chuckling yet miffed, Will looked at Nico. He head a frantic look in his eyes, and his heartbeat was going a mile a minute. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his cheeks were getting even redder from the intensity of Will and his blue eyes staring at him.

"You don't have to apologize, Sunshine. I'm flattered, honestly." Nico's shoulders lowered at the statement, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Instead of taking his hands off from around Nico's wrist, he moved his palms down to hold them. "I'm glad you're getting comfortable around me. It's nice."

The next summer, when Nico turned to kiss Will on the cheek goodnight, Will turned his head to connect their lips.