The moon hung low and bright over the lake at Camp Half-Blood, partly obscured by a shadow. The air was sharp and cold, making Nico wince every time he drew in a breath. He desperately wished he'd thought to bring an extra sweater for Will, who was huddled up against Nico, teeth chattering viciously.

Instead, Nico hesitantly put his arm around Will. They'd been dating for three months, and still Nico was scared to touch him. Dating Will felt too unreal, too hazy, as if suddenly Nico would blink and discover it had all been a dream.

If that ever happened, Nico thought, he'd have to pay a special visit to Hypnos.

Will, however, remained solid as ever. Nico made a mental note to send a small offering of pancakes to Hypnos in the morning.

"Nico…" Will said slowly, his violent shivering reduced to a slight trembling. Nico decided that he quite liked the way his name sounded when Will said it; warm and gentle, and always with a hint of wonder.

Gods, please say it again, Nico wanted to tell him. Instead, he said, "yeah?" in his quietest voice, the one he only used when he was with Will. He was afraid to use his normal voice, afraid of the touch of darkness that was always in his tone no matter his mood. There was no way his regular voice could ever be anything but harsh, and he definitely did not want to be harsh with Will.

"I was… I was just thinking about something." Will sounded unsure, like he was searching for words, or maybe the nerve to use them. His hesitance worried Nico. Will wasn't the type to withhold his thoughts.

The shadow over the moon grew bigger, and Nico couldn't help but feel that it was an ominous sign of some sort. Was Will going to break up with him? Was Will leaving camp? A knot began to form in Nico's stomach, and he fidgeted until he was as close to Will as he could possibly get. If it wasn't going to last much longer, Nico was going to savor every last moment.

The shift in position did not go unnoticed by Will, who silently cursed his stupidity. How could he be so inconsiderate and self-centered? Of course he was making Nico anxious, what with his own nervousness and all.

"Hopefully it wasn't anything... not good?" Nico asked apprehensively. He turned so that he could see Will's expression, but that did nothing to reassure him. Will's blue eyes were wide, his mouth grim and tightly shut. He looked absolutely terrified. When he heard what Nico had said, his expression shifted into one of even greater horror.

"Oh gods, Nico, no! Nothing bad, I swear. But I need to tell you something."

Will mentally ran through all the various ways he could say it. Casually was probably best, but he'd ruined that already by his slow buildup. Did he want to sound like a hopeless romantic? Perhaps. Should he speak in sonnets? Perhaps not. He was probably worrying too much about it, but he wanted the first time he said it to be special. And he definitely didn't want to freak Nico out at all.

"Okay. I'm just gonna say it. Nico, I really love -" fuckfuckf uck shit fuck i can't do this, Will thought. Beside him, he felt Nico stiffen, and all his nerve disappeared at once. Lamely, Will finished, "space. I really love space."

Which was a drastic change from the speech he had been mentally preparing for days, the one that went something like "I've never been happier before in my life, you are everything to me, what the actual fuck is so special about this moon anyways, and gods, Nico, I love you so much."

Nico smiled at Will, feeling as if a giant had removed itself from it's comfortable resting position on Nico's stomach. He leaned against Will's shoulder, hugging him tightly. The night dimmed as another sliver of the moon was consumed by shadow, and Nico was grateful for the growing darkness to hide his growing blush. Despite the cold, Nico had never felt so warm and content before.

"I know," he said softly. "I love space too."