Hello! What could this be? Something new? Don't shame me, I swear it isn't an ongoing story. This is just a little oneshot I had to write after reading several absolutely amazing Solangelo fics. The pun popped into my head, so I wrote it. I'm sorry if the writing sucks ^-^" I've never written Nico or Will before, but I thought this would be cute. Don't burn me at the stake please, just enjoy the story.

Disclaimer - Will and Nico are not mine, obviously.

Will

Will Solace personally believed that he was fantastic at his job. At the very least, he was accurate when it came to how long a patient really needed to stay in the infirmary. Namely a certain son of Hades, who was still absolutely forbidden from doing any Underworldy stuff.

So when the three days was up and Will considered keeping Nico there longer, it was for purely medical reasons. Obviously. It wasn't because his dark shaggy hair looked absolutely adorable when it fell in his face. It definitely wasn't that cute little pout he did whenever he was sulking an thought Will wasn't looking. And it certainly couldn't be that Will's heart decided to run a relay race in his chest every time the Italian boy smiled.

No, none of those reasons had anything to do with the extra day Will decided to keep Nico in the infirmary. Definitely not.

So why, when the other boy asked the reason for his elongated stay, did Will blush before coming up with an answer?

"It's ah…." He frantically search for a valid reason. "Your powers!" he exclaimed. Nico was skeptical.

"My powers."

"Yep."

"The ones I've already been explicitly forbidden from using?" Will deflated, pride at keeping a level head lost. He crossed his arms, attempting to play it cool.

"Yes, di Angelo, exactly those. I want to monitor you for a bit longer, make sure you don't melt into a little puddle of darkness. Plus, it's easier to make sure you don't do anything you aren't supposed to." The italian rolled his eyes, but he was fighting a smile.

"Whatever Solace." Will smiled, then turned his attention to the new problem he now faced. He had Nico for another day, but what about after that? He couldn't keep him there forever. Why was Will even keeping him there? Well, okay. He knew that. He didn't want the son of Hades to leave. He'd really enjoyed his company the past few days, all sarcastic comments included. Will wasn't sure Nico would stop by as often once he wasn't required to be there, and the thought made him a bit sad. He was pretty sure normal people would fix this with some romantic gesture and dramatic admittance of feelings, but since when had demigod life ever been normal? No, Will preferred locking his crush up in the hospital. Wait- did he actually just refer to him as his crush? Crap, he did. Now he had to face it. He glanced over at Nico, who was deeply involved in some book he'd brought for the moments Will had to tend to other patients. Nico kept having to brush his bangs out of his eyes, but it really wasn't helping as they kept falling down. Will couldn't help but smile.

Yeah, he'd fallen pretty hard. The problem was, he had no idea how Nico felt. He cringed slightly, remembering that the son of Hades had been trapped in time, and was from a period where feeling like Will's weren't really accepted. There was a possibility Will would be shot down. Somehow, though, he had a feeling that wouldn't happen. In the three days Nico had been here he'd smiled more than Will had ever seen, even laughed from time to time. It was enough to give him hope that he might, might return his feelings just the slightest. And this left Will in the same situation.

Basically, he had one day to win over the italian boy's heart, or convince him to admit his feelings. No pressure.

Nico

As it turned out, before being sentenced to an extra day, Nico had been planning on visiting the infirmary.

Sentenced. That made it sound like a punishment. Nico supposed more time in the hospital could be considered that, but he wasn't about to turn down an excuse to spend time with Will Solace.

The son of Hades wasn't stupid, he definitely recognized his desire to spend so much of his time with the other boy. He knew it well from the incident with Percy. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't in denial. Nico was in so much denial he could make a whole new river in Egypt.

To be fair though, Nico wasn't used to acceptance. People from his time would flinch away in disgust for the way he was. Say the devil was inside him and try to send him to some 'pray the gay away' camp. So yeah, for the moment he was content with just watching Will from afar. Talking, laughing, and enjoying his extra but last day in the infirmary.

Will

Will was not okay with just watching over Nico another day. He still had to divide his time among his other patients, so it wasn't like he could spend all day with Nico. And even if he could, they weren't alone. No, this just wasn't what Will was hoping for. What he wanted was some quality time with the younger demigod. Some time to sit down and talk with him about everything.

Glancing over at Nico, Will sighed. Even now he was busy going over reports about yet another of the Stoll's pranks gone wrong. Luckily, while Will couldn't be right there with Nico, he had bought himself some time to plan. His nerves were eating away at him every second, he knew he had to do something soon. He had to know if Nico felt anything like what Will felt. He had to know if Nico was even the slightest bit interested. Of course, that was the problem. Getting him alone to talk to. Chances were Nico would run off once he was released, or at least try to. Even if he didn't leave camp it could be Hades to try and find him if he didn't want to be found.

No, Will had to act fast. The sooner the better, really. But what to say? That was the real question. Could he just go up to him and ask how he felt? No, no. Definitely not. He couldn't be that blunt. Something more subtle was called for in this situation. Maybe he could try to steer the conversation in the direction of relationships? He could try to get Nico to admit.. Something. Anything, really.

Yeah, that could work. Will nodded to himself, a nervous smile crossing his face. And maybe he could drop hints of his own feelings. It wasn't the best plan, but a plan was still a plan. Now, he just had to find a way to execute it.

Later that day, Will got his chance. He'd finally gotten a break, all of his patients having been taken care of, and the area Nico was in was relatively empty. As Will walked over though, his resolve started to crumble and his nerves sparked. He could feel the faintest fluttering in his stomach, though he tried his best to ignore it. He stopped by Nico's side, trying to force a casual smile onto his face.

"Hey Nico!" Too cheery. That was way to cheery. Tone it down, he thought to himself. Nico looked up, caught off by Will's happy greeting that didn't match with the painful looking smile on his face.

"Solace…Why do you look like you're in pain? If you didn't want to see me you could have just left." Will shook his head quickly, not wanting Nico to get the wrong idea.

"No, I'm not in pain! I wanted to see you, I swear!" He blushed slightly. "I mean, I'm not just going to leave you here all alone." Nico raised an eyebrow, and Will coughed awkwardly. "Anyway. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." He hesitated a moment before giving Will a look that almost seemed to be concern. Will couldn't really tell, he was focusing more on controlling the raging fire on his face. "Are you? You look a little like you're about to explode." Will waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just wanted to talk to you before you left." There you go Will, he thought. Keep it simple, keep it subtle. Now just gently switch topics… "So I heard Annabeth and Percy are going to spend their senior year together. That's pretty cool." Real smooth Solace. Smooth. However, Nico's face changed slightly at Percy's name. It was quick to disappear, like a habit he was trying to break out of.

"Yeah, it's nice." Nico's voice was monotone, and Will feared he had screwed up. In his panic, the words started rushing out of him.

"It really is, isn't it? That they get to spend that last year together and not have to worry about monsters, just being together and normal. It's so nice that they have each other, I mean I wouldn't really know much about what that's like but I bet it's nice, what about you Nico, any experience?" The Son of Hades stared at Will, eyes wide.

"What the Hades Will?! What are you trying to ask me?" Will cursed, biting his lip. Yeah, he was real subtle alright. This is not how he was expecting this conversation to go.

"I… Um," he hesitated. What was he supposed to say? If he tried to lie, Nico would probably see through it. If he didn't say anything then who knows what Nico would assume! But telling the truth… the thought terrified him. What if he was rejected? Worse, what if Nico completely pushed him away? The son of Apollo looked at the younger demigod for another moment before taking a deep breath. He'd already started digging his grave, he might as well finish it. "What I mean to say was um… Nico I… These past few days have been great. I mean, not the you almost melting into a puddle of darkness that landed you here, but just having you here. With me. I've enjoyed your company, a lot. And I guess what I'm saying Nico… is that I want to keep spending time with you. As often as I can. And maybe even as… more than friends." Will paused here, and Nico sucked in a breath. What was Will saying? "But I don't know how you feel, and I'm really freaking out about this right now for some reason. So I guess what I'm asking for… I need a straight answer from you Nico."

Silence fell as Nico processed his words, a million thoughts raced through his head at a mile a minute. Will… liked him? In that way? It was impossible, yet that was what the blonde had just told him. In a very memorable way, he might add. Nico knew that he felt something more for Will. His denial was lessening, he could admit it to himself. But to Will? What was he supposed to say? Almost as soon as he asked himself that though, the answer popped into his head. A sly smile spread across his face as he looked up at Will.

"Well, I'm afraid I would be lying if I gave it to you straight, Will."

Get it? Huh? Do you get the pun? Again, please don't hate me for the joke. I had to, and I swear I mean offense to no one by this (though I'm not sure how I would offend someone, I want to cover my bases). Anyway, this was just a little oneshot. I have a few more in the making though, so you may see the occasional oneshot thrown up there on my profile. I promise I am working on my chapter stories, I just needed a little break. I hope this can hold you guys for a little bit longer.

Alright, I'll go back to the abyss now. (Hah! Another pun! 'Cause my story? and then just sinking into an abyss? Yeah, I'm terrible. I'll go now.)

Peace out,

~ Attic