"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" - Dr. Seuss

...

Will glanced over his shoulder, eyes scanning the street, before slipping into the crowded café and shutting the door firmly behind him to block out the wintry chill. It was hard to see his surroundings with the dark shades over his eyes, but they were completely vital to his mission. Thankfully, he found who he was looking for easily.

He walked over to where a young woman sat with matching sunglasses, holding a thin menu up. He cleared his throat as he sat down behind her. "Any trouble?" he asked.

"No." Hazel Levesque sighed and lowered her menu. "Was all of this really necessary, Will?"

"Of course it was!" Will asserted. "You know how… how you-know-who gets whenever we try to do something nice for him." He rolled his eyes even though the daughter of Pluto couldn't see it. "It's practically his modus operandi. Plan a party and you're swimming chest-deep in femurs and clavicles and other parts that you really don't want near you."

"You would know," Hazel muttered. "Still… the sunglasses?"

"So we won't be recognized."

"Will, I don't think sunglasses are enough of a disguise."

"They're inconspicuous."

"They're really not."

Will ignored her. "Did you get the list?"

Hazel sighed again but nodded and produced a piece of notebook paper from her bag. "You have no idea how hard it was to get this," she said. "Nico is more stubborn than a mule."

Will snatched the paper away from her hand and studied it carefully. His shoulders sagged. "That's it? That's all you got out of him?"

"Like I said. Stubborn."

"But there are, like, two things." Will groaned and a moment later his forehead went thump against the table. "What am I supposed to do? His party is today, Hazel. I don't know what to get him!"

"I don't know either. Maybe we should just call off his par—"

"SHH!" Will lunged forward to place a finger on her lips. "Ixnay on the artypay!"

Hazel tilted her head back. "But he hates them and we suck at planning."

Thump went his forehead again, and, wow, that was a firm table. Was that real oak? "Ow," he muttered into the wood. "And, yes. Yes, we do. But we're having it."

"I'm beginning to think you like bone-diving."

Will chuckled and sat up. "Trust me, I really don't. And, I don't know, it's just... Well, when I think about how many birthdays he missed." He shrugged and picked at the corner of Hazel's menu. "I guess I just want him to have one like everybody else. Better, even."

Hazel smiled and her expression softened. "That's really sweet."

Will blushed. He frowned at the table. "I…"

"Okay. Let's think. What would Nico want for his birthday?"

"McDonald's gift cards?" she posed.

Will shook head. "I just got him off of that stuff. No relapses."

"Okay. Uh, more clothes?"

"You try shopping for him," Will muttered. "If it's not black it's not even allowed off the rack."

"Right. New armor?"

Will groaned again. "But that's so lame! Happy Birthday, boyfriend! Here, take this breastplate and think of me every time you're not impaled!"

"Well, I don't know!" Hazel pouted. "What would you want from him?"

Will thought about it for a moment before his train of thought went far too close to the gutter than was appropriate when sitting next to Nico's sister and quickly changed it.

"Well?" she asked when he didn't respond.

"Uh." He shook his head quickly and brought his hands up uselessly."Band-Aids?" He immediately winced.

Hazel gave him a dry look. "Band-Aids."

"Heh." Will twiddled his thumbs. "Never know when you might need one."

Hazel sighed. "This is hopeless. Why don't we ask Jason or Reyna?"

"I did," he whined. "They both said they'd come to the party but they didn't want to get involved in a 'lover's spat'. Rude. Like I'm gonna mess up that badly."

Hazel gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm. "I'm sure you'll find something before tomorrow."

Will hummed. "I hope so. What did you get him?"

Hazel bit her lower lip. "I don't want to say."

"What is it? Hazel, have mercy. Please."

She blew out a long exhale. "I got him The Walking Dead?"

Will gasped and put a hand over his head, affronted. "You traitor."

"I'm sorry!"

"That's brilliant."

"I know!"

"Hazel!"

"I know! I'm sorry!"

Will fell back in his seat. "I'm doomed."

…

"Nico?" Will called as he entered the little shared cabin they were using for their visit. The only request Nico had given for his birthday was to be in New Rome. He knew Nico wanted to be more active in Hazel's life, and Will felt just a smidgen of guilt for hogging her time to plan a not-quite surprise party. Nico was already suspicious, and asserted several times that he did not need a party. Will would only agree and say he wasn't getting one anyways so there was nothing to worry about.

There wasn't a response, which meant that Nico was still out with Jason and Percy – bless them – who had volunteered to 'keep him busy' for the day while the rest of them prepped for the not-quite surprise party. Will sent them off with instructions to stay clear of the dining hall and to avoid setting off another apocalypse.

He let out a little sigh of relief and fell breezily into the comfy chair immediately. He stared at the ceiling, foot bouncing in the air in thought. The party was set and ready. Reyna had been left as overseer. Will never saw anyone put up streamers so quickly before as when they had the Praetor barking orders at them.

The cake had been left to Piper and Annabeth, who promised him that it would be ready in time. Though, the last time Will had seen them they were having a very deep conversation about some philosophical point that went way over his head.

All that was left was the present. It had to have meaning, but he didn't want to trigger any ill thoughts on such a happy day. But it couldn't be too pointless because he didn't want to look as though he didn't care. What to get?

Frustrated, he pushed himself up to his feet again and marched into the kitchen for a drink. He didn't expect to see a tall, thin man standing there dressed as though he'd just returned from a funeral. Will screamed in shock, holding his chest, and the man turned, looking rather impassive.

The man was intimidating with slicked-back raven black hair and deep, dark eyes that seemed to led straight into another world. He was pale with familiarly defined cheekbones and a firm jawline. Will knew, in a terrifying bone-jellying second, who he was looking at. "Oh," Hades, the god of the Underworld, Nico's father, said simply. "I was expecting my son."

Will made a high-pitched squeaking noise, gesturing uselessly. He bit his lips to stop the offending noise.

Hades ignored it. He eyed Will up and down before speaking again. "I hear you're planning a party?"

"O-oh," Will managed a weak smile, "yeah. T-tonight, actually."

The god of the dead raised an eyebrow. "And why wasn't I informed?"

Will's jaw dropped open. He wondered if it was too early to start groveling for his life. Or, rather, if was too late. He was pretty sure his knees were going to give out any second regardless. "I…" he choked out. "I, uh, I don't know?"

Real articulate, Will.

Hades's eyes narrowed, as if trying to decipher exactly what he was looking at.

Will promptly panicked. And what was his natural defense? He blabbered. "I-I mean, not that we don't want you there or anything, Mr.… uh… King of the Underworld. I just, well, is it really your scene?"

Hades looked, if possible, even scarier. "My scene?"

Will should just find a shovel and start digging. "Y-yeah, you know! Hanging around a bunch of teenaged mortals? Plus, things might really die down if that – that! That wasn't meant to be a death pun! I swear, I have total respect for dead guys! I mean, that sounds weird. I just mean that, well your son is really – he's important and I—oh." He hid his face in his hands. "Oh gods. Just strike me now."

"Try breathing," Hades said dryly. His eyes were crinkling with some sort of undefinable emotion. "I understand. Nico often tells me that I come off as an undertaker and that makes people… uncomfortable."

"Hey, you know what they say about undertakers," Will blurted out before he could stop himself. "They're the last person to ever let you down."

Hades blinked at him in confusion and Will had to turn away in order to hit his head off of the wall and mouth, "OH MY GOD."

Then, Hades made a small noise that could have been a chuckle. Will spun around in disbelief. "You are exactly as he says," Hades muttered, shaking his head. "I'm not entirely sure how to speak to you, to be perfectly honest."

"Heh," Will rasped nervously. "W-well, I mean, you can come to it if you'd like."

Hades huffed. "You would really invite the god of the dead to a birthday party?"

"I'd invite Nico's father," he corrected. "You're his family."

For a second, Will thought he had gone too far as Hades's face went wide with shock. Will prepared himself for a swift death, but Hades only shook his head again. "Relax, son of Apollo. I'm not going to smite you on my son's birthday. It may upset him." There was that glimmer in his eyes again. Was he… was he joking?

"But," his tone changed instantly, "if the need ever arises… if you ever do something that may endanger him…" He trailed off as he leveled Will with a deep glare. "I will not hesitate."

"R-right," Will croaked. "Course. Fair."

Hades nodded, looking amused. "Good. Then, I will speak with Nico later."

"I'll, uh, let him know you stopped by?" Will shuffled. He had no idea what to say. How does one address his boyfriend's terrifying, insanely powerful father? He rubbed his arm. "I, uh, I don't suppose you have any present ideas?"

Oh, of all the wrong things to say, that had to be one of the worst. Hades's eyebrows shot up in surprise and Will could read the unspoken words flickering in his obsidian eyes. You haven't gotten him a gift yet?

Will shrank in on himself, twiddling his thumbs again. Another nervous tick. Hades seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of blasting him into cinders before he said something rather unexpected. "In all of his years, there's only one thing I know he's wanted."

Will lit up. "Really? What is it?"

Hades gave him an obvious look and suddenly it all made sense to Will and he felt stupid for not realizing it earlier.

"Just keep in mind, Bill," Hades resumed his icy deposition – Will wasn't sure if the temperature was dropping or if he was imagining the feeling as if the walls closing in but he felt faint nonetheless, "I am watching."

And then he was gone.

Will's knees finally gave out.

…

"Jason, please, I know what you're all up to and I don't like it. So please stop."

"I am under strict medical orders to keep you busy on your big day."

"How is that medically related to your health at all?"

"Will said that it was if I wanted my health to stay as is."

Nico di Angelo huffed and crossed his arms. "You do realize I can summon dead stuff, right?"

"Yeah, we know," Percy piped up. "But we're talked about it and decided it was less risky this way."

"Will could heal any broken bones," Jason reasoned, "but that whistle of his could leave us deaf forever."

Nico di Angelo groaned and tilted his head back. "I'm going to kill him. I didn't want a party."

Percy and Jason turned simultaneously. "There's no party," they chimed.

Nico groaned again and considered hijacking the nearest shadow and riding it straight to New York. Anything would be better than walking into that dining hall where he knew Will had enlisted half the camp to throw a surprise party that would not be surprising in the least. The embarrassment was actually going to kill him.

Nico knew that Jason and Percy were leading him there now. He knew the whole day spent roaming around New Rome and goofing around was to buy time, and he knew he wasn't getting out of it.

When Jason made a show of checking his watch, Nico also knew that he had run out of time. "Well, I'm getting pretty hungry. How about you, Perce?"

"Starved," Percy agreed. "Hey, you know where they have food? The dining hall! Why don't we go?"

"You're terrible actors," he muttered.

They just beamed at him.

From the outside, the dining hall looked dark and empty. Nico sighed. "Let's just get this over with," he said and opened the doors.

For a moment, there was nothing but darkness, and Nico felt a smidgen of disappointment that quickly burned into embarrassment. Then –

"SURPRISE!"

Nico, despite himself, flinched as the lights came on and someone threw a balloon at him. He blinked as several faces came into focus. Hazel was there with Frank, waving apologetically at him. Percy went over to greet Annabeth while Piper darted forward to pull Nico into a hug. Reyna was at his side next, ruffling his hair, and Jason grabbed him after to lift him into one of his infamous rib-shattering embraces. Then, leading the pack with a huge, dorky smile, was the mastermind behind it all. Nico tried to glare at his boyfriend, he really did, but the matching smile on his face ruined the desired effect.

"I hate you so much right now," Nico said as Will approached him.

"I'm hurt," Will answered, sing-song. He rested his hands on Nico's arms and beamed. "Happy Birthday, Nico!"

"Happy Birthday!" came an answering cheer and Nico felt his face growing uncomfortably hot.

"The hate is growing, Solace," he murmured.

Will just laughed and gave him a quick peck on the nose, succeeding in making Nico impersonate a steamed lobster. Then, Hazel was whisking him away to give him a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug that Nico immediately returned. "Happy Birthday, bro," she said.

"Thanks, Hazel."

"Oh, so she gets a thank you?" Will teased, hands on his hips.

"Well, look at all the hard work she did," Nico taunted, gesturing around the hall.

Will pouted, but it disappeared the moment Nico nudged him playfully. He stuck out an arm expectantly. "Can I escort the birthday boy through his party?"

Nico rolled his eyes but put his hand on Will's elbow and let the son of Apollo steer him through the party, talking to each person in turn. Nico was shocked at all the people there, who were all eager to wish him a happy birthday and talk to him. He found it wasn't as bad as he had anticipated.

After a while, Will pulled him aside. "I wanna give you my present now."

Nico frowned. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Uh, yeah. I did. I wanted to." Will handed him a small little blue box about the size of his fist.

Nico took it, blinking. "Uh…"

"Just open it."

Nico did and was immediately confused. "It's a… key?" He lifted it out of the box and kept it in his palm. It was a small silver key, slightly worn and scratched.

"It's my key," Will corrected, "to my house. You know, back in New York. I already asked my mom, and she agreed. You should have one."

Nico felt something tighten in his chest. He glanced up wordlessly at Will and opened and closed his mouth several times. Suddenly, the key felt very heavy, solid with the weight of the implications it held. "I… I can't accept this."

"Look, Nico, I…" He took a deep breath, which made Nico nervous. "Both my mom and I consider you to be family. Everyone here is like family and I… I just wanted to tell you that." He smiled anxiously. "So, yeah."

Nico ran his thumb across the key and found he couldn't trust his voice. He just collected Will into a tight hug. "Thank you."

Will kissed the top of his head. "I love you," was all he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world, like he had no idea how weak, and yet how strong it made Nico feel.

When it came to the cake, Nico wasn't sure what he was looking at. It was white but with black frosting on top outlining a ghost. In messy cursive were the words, "Happy Birthday, Nico!" with two candles – a Nine and a One.

"Ninety-one," he muttered. "Charming."

"Oops." Percy reached out and switched the order. "Dyslexic problems."

"Nineteen. Better."

Hazel held up a camera. "Okay, everyone start singing."

"Please don't."

"One," Will counted, "two, three!"

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

Nico's face went hot again. He stared stubbornly at the cake. Were those chocolate chip eyes?

"Happy birthday, dear Nico!"

Nico looked up at everyone, at Percy and Jason with their party hats, Hazel with her camera, Reyna holding up her up, Annabeth and Piper clapping along as they tried to get Frank to dance along with them, and at Will, who was conducting them all while keeping his eyes locked on Nico's, at his family.

"Happy birthday to you!"

"Now make a wish!" Will called.

A wish?

Again, Nico glanced around the room, and contentment crashed over him. He had to blink back the sudden emotion clouding up his eyes.

I consider you to be family.

It seemed he already got his wish.

And so he blew out his candles.

A/N: Happy 91st/19th Birthday, Nico! :3