"Then he walked back across the green, where Will Solace was waiting."

-Blood of Olympus

No, he thought to himself, not this again. He berated, repeating discouraging mantras in his head. He'd heard somewhere before that if you repeat something enough times, you will begin to believe it. He didn't know if it worked when you were telling yourself things, or if it was only when other people told you things, but if it didn't work… well then he'd know that he's finally lost his mind.

That Apollo boy means nothing to him.

If he kept saying that, then soon enough he would be convinced. He paced back and forth inside his cabin, waiting until he was stable enough to go outside. He couldn't be seen like this; it was out of the question. He did have a reputation to uphold, and if he stepped outside of that persona for even a few minutes, he was sure Jackson would never let him forget about it. He quickly did his best to get the images of the blond out of his head. It shouldn't be that hard. If he can force himself to push the images of the horrors of Tartarus out of his mind, then why should another fourteen-year-old boy be any different?

All he had to do was focus on something else. He just had to not think about his interaction with the medic the other day. He just had to not think about how his palms had gotten sweaty, or how the beating of his heart had been louder than the roar of any monster. He just had to not think about the fluttering in his stomach that came whenever the other boy was nice to him or gave him compliments He just had to not think about him. How hard could that be?

…shit.

The Romans were gone, and the cabin felt emptier than ever. Suddenly, the idea of staying at camp was as unappealing as it had been before. But he already told Jason and the others that he was staying, so he couldn't just run anymore. He had done what he hadn't allowed himself to do before; he's made friends, so now he's rooted to where he is. He's established connections and created bonds, however new and flimsy. And although Jason and Will were still at camp, Reyna had left, which left a strange emptiness in Nico's chest.

The silence in the room was comforting, but felt odd compared to where he had been ordered to stay for the past three days. He liked it this way, however. Nico felt awkward around other living organisms. He could only hope that it would get easier with time. And, unless another war begins, Nico has plenty of time. That, however, was only cause to scare him more. The more time he spent with that stupid child of Apollo, the harder it would be to stop crushing on him. He'd learned the hard way that it was dangerous and hazardous to his health to dwell on a crush he developed on a straight guy.

What did I do to deserve this? He wondered. He thought the Fates had had the last laugh after Bianca's death, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Time and time again the rug was pulled out from under his feet as soon as he had regained his balance. It was a vicious cycle that was the outline of the story of his life.

Wanting some fresh air, he left his cabin to take a walk. Most campers were either busy or resting, with the war having been over for less than a week. This meant that Nico was free to stroll without all of the weird looks he normally gets: either looks of fear, dislike, or pity. Since the war with Gaia ended, almost everyone gives him pity, and he certainly didn't want that. So he enjoyed his peaceful walk, avoiding large groups of campers.

Just his luck, he ran into someone.

"Hey, Death Boy." Will Solace greeted him, causing Nico to grind his teeth.

"Solace," he hissed, "what did I tell you about calling me that?"

The blond laughed in reply, moving on. "How are you feeling?" Nico raised an eyebrow. Will continued, "Physically."

Nico shrugged. "Fine, I guess. You wouldn't have let me leave otherwise, right?"

"But still, I can't help but worry." He told him. Will was a medic, so Nico didn't see anything wrong with what he had said, but the other boy's face took on a slight pink tint and he was quick to add, "'Cause, ya know, I'm a medic, so I worry about everyone who gets hurt."

"No dip, Sherlock." Nico retorted, unable to restraint the sarcastic remark.

Will frowned. "Sarcasm was not needed, di Angelo."

"Neither was you pointing out the obvious, but you did it anyway." He said. He hadn't meant to hurt Will's feelings, but the other boy looked so upset after Nico's remark that he was tempted to take it back. But it was true and that wasn't Nico's style. His guilt influenced his next statement. "But everyone at this camp says stupid things, so maybe it's just a demigod thing."

Will smiled and chuckled, his humor coming back. "You make a very fine point, but you do realize that you're included in that category, right?"

Nico nodded. "I know. Have you heard any of the stories that I know people spread about me? I'm as big of an idiot as anyone here, maybe even more so."

Will laughed and Nico cursed silently to himself. His sentence was so rushed and embarrassingly honest, that he might as well have screamed 'I'm nervous as hell' at the top of his lungs. If Will noticed, however, he fortunately didn't say anything about it. Instead, he just patted Nico on the shoulder. Nico hated being touched, but he was too distracted to complain. Just the touch of Will's hand on his shoulder gave him the same electric feeling that he had felt during the war when Will had made him touch his shaky hand. And, just like before, Nico retracted quickly. He didn't fail to miss the hurt look on Will's face, that had been there only for a moment, as he did so. The blond recovered quickly, however. "I guess I should be going then, huh?"

"I guess."

"Where were you going when I stopped you?" he tried to continue in a failed attempt to clear the air between them.

Nico responded with, "Nowhere", and that pretty much ended the conversation. Will said goodbye and the two of them went their separate ways. Yup, Nico thought, agreeing to stay was definitely the wrong choice. He wondered briefly if the offer to go and stay at Camp Jupiter was still available.

It became Nico's go-to response after that. Whenever Will tried to make conversation with him for the next week – which was surprisingly often, why would anyone want to talk to him so badly? – Nico would immediately shut down and shut him out. He knew it wasn't the correct response, but it was the easiest. It didn't help the tension between the two of them, however. It continued to escalate and thicken until everyone at camo could obviously sense it.

Everywhere he went, people began giving him the looks of dislike that had mostly ceased. They looked at him not only with distaste but with anger also. If Nico hadn't been so used to it, he might have wondered why. But he was long past the point of caring what everyone else thought about him, so he didn't care about their reasons. He ignored everyone the entire next week. He ignored the looks everyone gave him and whenever one of his friend tried approaching him, he turned and walked in the opposite direction. If he couldn't run, then he would do the next best thing – completely shut everyone out.

One day, Jason decided he'd had enough. He teamed up with Percy and cornered Nico. The fourteen-year-old almost growled at them, but thought better of it. He was still above that sort of thing. Both older teens stared down at him. "What?"

"You know what, Nico." Percy began. "Why have you been ignoring us?"

Nico frowned further. "I have my reasons," he said, "now move aside and leave me alone." With that, he tried pushing past him and Jason. Unfortunately, both boys were older and bigger than he was. Needless to say, he didn't get very far.

Jason sighed. "Nico, does this have anything to do with that Apollo kid, Will Solace?"

Nico's heart skipped a beat and ice coursed through his veins. "No, of course not. And it's not your business anyway. Now may I go?"

"Nico, you've been anti-social since Bianca died fighting that stupid automaton" Percy said. Nico's expression softened. He'd almost forgotten how she had died. He hadn't been paying much attention to that part when Percy was telling him about it all those summers ago, so sometimes the information slipped from his mind. "But lately, you've gotten worse and worse just when you were starting to get better. You're almost as bad as you were back then, minus the irrational decision making and hate towards me."

Nico didn't falter. "What's your point, Jackson?"

"Something happened. Something you aren't telling anyone about." He continued. He ran his fingers through his hair. "You're keeping everything pent up inside and that's not healthy. We got ahold of Camp Jupiter yesterday-"

"What?"

"And," Percy continued, ignoring Nico's outburst, "asked Hazel if you had told her anything-"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute, Jackson." Nico interrupted again. "You tattled on me to my younger sister? How old do you think I am? What the hell?"

Jason put his hands up in front of him. "Woah, Nico, calm down."

The younger boy did not bother to answer. Only angry thoughts filled his head. A part of him knew that he might be over-reacting, but all the rest of him felt like he was going to explode. He tried pulling himself together before he totally lost it. Without saying a word, he confused them by backing up toward the trees. Realizing what he was doing, Percy lunged at Nico. Just before he tackled Nico, the son of Hades melted into the shadows and was gone.

When he came to, he had to look around to remember what had happened. It quickly became apparent that he was in the Hades cabin, but he struggled to remember how he'd gotten there. He began recounting his steps; nobody was around to help him figure it out. It came back to him quicker than he had expected. It gave him a headache.

He tried blinking away the pain as his thoughts continued to move without him. First came his walk and the campers' looks of anger that had been directed at him. The next thing that came was the face of Will Solace. His mop of blond hair and contagious smile were clear in his mind. Gods, he loved that smile. The foreign feeling of happiness in his chest was short lived. The encounter with Percy and Jason came back to him with a small wave of nausea. The unreasonable anger came back to him before the rational part of him could remind him that it was uncalled for.

He slowly and carefully got up off the floor. Nico took a deep breath, strengthening his resolve. He hadn't thought about seriously doing it before, but now it seemed like the best decision. Go to Camp Jupiter. With his sister. Away from the judgement of Camp Half-Blood. Away from his annoying friends. Away from Will Solace.

He took a quick look around his cabin. Due to him never using it, there really wasn't anything to pack. All there was were a couple photos that Hazel had left here for him, and he planned on taking them wherever he went. He grabbed a generic plastic bag (where it had come from, he had no idea), and began putting photos inside.

"You shadow-travelling bitch."

Nico spun around, startled, putting a hand on his sword. When he saw who it was, he removed his hand from his weapon, but didn't relax. Through gritted teeth, Nico said, "What the heck are you doing here, Solace?"

Will looked completely calm, which Nico found strange. Everyone at camp was mad at him and he was trying to run again. How in the world could anyone look so casual while trying to talk to him? Despite Will's friendly exterior, Nico didn't drop his guard. Will said, "Wondering why you seem to have a death wish."

"A…A what?"

"Funny story," Will began, "Jason and Percy ran up to me complaining that you were already back to shadow-travelling again."

Nico sighed in annoyance. "Will, it's been a couple of weeks now. I think I'm f-"

"Would you please just think about how your actions affect those around you?" Will requested, his characteristic calm becoming slightly angry.

In response, he was given only silence.

"It doesn't matter what they think," Nico continued, "because I'm leaving camp."

He watched as Will's jaw fell and the silence became suffocating thick. For a few moments, neither of them said a word. Nico didn't know why he stood there. He knew that Will was still and silent because he was surprised, but Nico probably could have walked out the door without Will doing a think about it. Instead, he stood rooted to the spot, incapable of making himself leave. Just a minute ago, leaving had been all he had wanted. Why was it suddenly impossible for him to do it?

"You're leaving camp?" Will repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Nico shifted his weight, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah. You probably should have seen this coming. Everyone here hates me, and I always end up leaving."

Will shook his head silently, wither in disagreement or disbelief. "Nico, no one hates you."

"Freaking lie." He retorted quickly. "Everyone gives me angry looks or throws a rude insult when they think I can't see who they are."

Will bit his lip. "They're just a bit angry, Nico. It's not hatred."

"But that's the thing. They're always angry with me, because I'm always messing things up!" Nico explained. Sort of like Valdez… "Would you be able to stand it if every single person in camp hated you?"

"I told you, they're just angry!" Will replied, his voice steadily rising. Nico felt a twinge of nervousness. The only time he'd seen Will blow his lid was on Octavian – the poor bastard – and Nico had even managed to screw that up too. "And not everyone is mad!"

Nico scoffed, taking a glance at the corner he was going to use to shadow-travel. If the sun got too high in the sky, it would be gone. Then he'd have to leave the cabin to find shadows, and that would suck. He had meant to leave quickly and quietly; without a show, like the first time he had left camp. They had searched for him for days, and would have found him if it weren't for the Labyrinth. He looked back at Will, suddenly wanting to make him smile before he left, just so Nico could have the memory to hold on to.

"Yes they are!" He yelled, doing the exact opposite of what his heart wanted – as usual. His frustration was pouring out and, this time, patching the dam back up wouldn't be so easy. "Everyone at this stupid camp! The prejudice is not as bad at Camp Jupiter – only a little – but still!"

"What about your friends?" Will asked. "They don't hate you! I know for a fact that Percy has saved you at least two or three times."

Nico frowned. "Don't even start me on Percy! You haven't known him as long as I have!"

"That's not the point." Will said, trying to be the voice of reason. His ability to remain calm while being yelled at by someone as intimidating as the son of Hades impressed Nico so much that he almost ended the argument there in fear his heart would stop otherwise. But Will continued talking before Nico could say anything. "The point is, you have people who care about you, Nico. You aren't as alone as you think you are."

"Yes I am!" Nico blurted. It came out of his mouth before he could stop it. Unable to take it back, and strangely comforted by the fact that it was only Will in the room, he continued. "I always have been, and I always will be. It was always me and Bianca…and now…"

"Nico-"

Nico ignored Will's interruption and continued his train of thought. He'd never blurted his thoughts like this. He's always been such a guarded person since his sister's death. Maybe that's what caused this. Maybe everyone was right: there was only so many years that you can hold everything in before something snaps. Nico would just have to consider himself lucky that it was Will who was witnessing it, instead of someone who would make fun of him. Or Hazel. He could never worry Hazel like that.

"I have, like, one friend, Will." Nico told him. "And she's at Camp Jupiter! And so is my sister."

"Who?"

Nico tried not to break eye contact. "Reyna. Which is why I'm leaving this stupid camp. I was told I was welcome there, and I plan on taking them up on their offer!"

This time, Will didn't hide the hurt on his face nearly as well. Nico felt a painful clenching – tightening – in his chest as he watched the always-cheerful son of Apollo frown, mouth open slightly. The blond took a step back, as if afraid of being hit. Will's voice lost all of its usual charm. "You can't leave."

Nico almost couldn't bring himself to argue. But, if there's one thing his futile crush on Percy had taught him, it's how to argue with someone you love. "W-Why not?"

"Even if you don't count Percy and Annabeth and the others as your friends…" He hesitated, scaring Nico. "I thought that, you know…"

Nico suppressed the urge to spew his lunch everywhere. He knew where this was going, and he didn't know how he would react if he was right. "Will…don't finish that sentence."

"I thought we were friends, Nico. I really thought that you had let me become your friend." Will told him, trying to harden his expression and look tough, like Nico. But that wasn't who he was, and it just came across as more hurt. "But if you insist on pushing people away, then I won't bother trying anymore. I thought you needed a friend, so that's what I tried to give you."

"Y-You don't hate me?" Nico asked. He already knew the answer, Will had just said it, but he couldn't think of an intelligent way to respond. And he found himself still incapable of storming away or intimidating him. Therefore, the best reaction he could think to have was stalling.

Will shrugged. "No, not really. That's what I've been trying to get through your thick skull this entire time. You. Are. Not. Alone."

"But why?" Nico asked. "There's nothing likable about me. I'm annoying, dark, testy, and talk to the dead on a daily basis."

Will grinned, lifting Nico's spirits. "You aren't scary to me, di Angelo. You're intriguing."

"Intriguing?" Nico asked, the tension between them slowly fading.

Will chuckled. "Yeah. You're, like, a big puzzle. One that I've taken the liberty of trying to solve."

The corners of Nico's mouth twitched. "You think you can figure me out, Solace?"

Will shrugged again, this time much more lively. He put his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest enough that it was comic. "I'm fairly confident in my people skills, di Angelo. This will be like my final exam. You."

Nico raised an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth rising into a small smirk. "Oh yeah? Well, Will, as long as I'm harder to figure out than you are. You're like a cardboard cutout."

"Excuse me?" Will asked. "You don't know the first thing about me."

"Try me."

Will smiled more. "What's my favorite color?"

Nico's mouth drew into a straight line. "Uh…yellow?"

Will shook his head. "Wrong. How many siblings do I have?"

"You don't mean in your cabin do you?" Nico stated more than asked. Will shook his head. "I don't know, two?"

Will shook his head again. "Wrong. How'd I get to camp?"

Nico threw his arms in the air in frustration. "How in the world am I supposed to know that? I was on the run with Minos when you showed up at camp."

"I know how you showed up." Will told him.

Nico scoffed. "That isn't impressive. Everyone here has heard the story of my first summer. I threw a temper tantrum that left a scar on the Earth here at camp. The Hunters were at camp that summer. Thalia almost crashed your dad's Sun Chariot into the canoe lake!"

Will laughed. "Fair enough, but I think I've proved my point. You don't know as much about me as you think. I'm not as much of a one-dimensional person as you think I am. No one ever is, Nico. You'd do well to remember that."

Nico clenched his fists, and he was suddenly reminded of the bag in his hand. He was going to leave. His gaze lingered on the bag for a second too long before looking up at Will because, when he did, the boy looked upset all over again. "Will."

"I can't make you stay, can I?" He asked.

Nico looked down at his feet. He wasn't sure if he could get paler, but he certainly felt all the blood drain from his face. Even for someone as tough as him, how was someone supposed to tell the person they like that they were leaving? "Look, it's cool that you don't hate me and all, but that doesn't fix the fact that everyone else here hates me."

"What did I say before, Nico?" Will stated. "Not everyone hates you. Stop the pity party, di Angelo, because no one wants to come."

"What?"

Will frowned at him, but it wasn't because he was hurt. It looked more like a parent scolding a child. "You don't need a lot of friends, Nico. Just a couple of good ones. Yes, you have Reyna and your sister at Camp Jupiter, but you have Jason and Percy and me here."

'You don't need a lot of friends, Nico. Just a couple of good ones.' Will's words reverberated through Nico's mind. Darn, Solace. Stop making sense. Nico sighed. For a tense moment, no one moved or spoke. No one was even breathing. Exhaling, the son of Hades let go of the bag in his hand. It landed on the floor with a clunk. He lifted his head and looked at Will. Nico shrugged. "Solace. Happy?"

Will smiled. "Very. But…are you?"

Nico shrugged. "Doesn't seem to matter. I just tried to leave because I wasn't happy and then was guilted into staying by an annoying blond medic."

"You can leave if it makes you happy." Will smiled weakly, then added in a soft voice, "As long as you're happy."

Nico had to white-knuckle the frame of his bed to make sure he wasn't melting into the shadows. His heart was working overtime to pump blood around his body, but his face didn't seem to want any. He found it hard to breathe through the clenching in his chest, and ice coursed through his veins. His legs were shaking, but all he wanted to do was throw himself onto the bed and sleep.

"Will, I-I-"

Will put up his hand, silencing Nico. "Silver, one, and the Sun Chariot."

"Uh…" Nico stuttered, unsure of how to properly respond to that.

"Your favorite color, number of siblings on the non-godly side, and how you got to camp." Will explained, the sad smile never wavering. "The questions I asked you earlier about me. I know them for you."

"Look, if you're trying to make me feel terrible about my decision," Nico began, his voice cracking a bit at the end, "then you're doing a damn good job."

Will shrugged yet again. It seemed his default way to react to things. Nico's curiosity rose, but decided to ask about it later. "I guess I am."

"What? Just a moment ago you were talking about how much you wanted me to be happy!" Nico reminded him. "And now you're admitting to intentionally making me feel bad?"

Another shrug. "I don't get it either, Nico. I really do want you to be happy, I swear. With everything you've been through, you deserve happiness in your life. I just…" He broke eye-contact and looked at the ground. A pink tint took hold of Will's face. Wish my face would do that. "I just wish you'd be happy with me."

'I just wish you'd be happy with me.' That's the second time Will's words got stuck in Nico's head, and the latter didn't know how to take his words. The rational part of him knew that Will was just upset about losing his 'final exam', but the gay part of him made his knees feel weak a created a fluttering in his stomach. Nico's self-conditioning came back to him just in time: That Apollo boy means nothing to him.

"Nico."

Nico snapped out of his thoughts when Will spoke again. He wasn't expecting the conversation to continue until he sorted out his thoughts, which is a very self-centered way of doing things. He shook his head to try and clear his hazy thoughts a bit before speaking. "Will, I don't know what you want me to say. This is so not funny in a way you don't understand. I-"

"Nico."

"I'll just have to be honest with you like I was with Percy." He blurted, for the second time that day, surprising himself. Especially because he was right. "That might be the only way for me to be able to go with a clear conscience; to be able to move on in my life and not get hung up again."

"Nico."

The younger boy ignored him again. "Will, just hear me out. And try not to hate me, okay?" Nico pinched his own arm, silently cursing himself for acting like the weak, emotional little kid he used to be. He grew tough for a reason, and now Will was prying and prying just like Percy had done. Nico refused to let it get to him again.

"Nico."

"Will," Nico said, gathering whatever was left of his pride after everything that had transpired in the last couple weeks, "I have a crush on you. Try not to be weirded out. You're the one who wants to be my friend knowing full well that I'm gay. As they say, 'shit happens'."

"Nico!"

The yell shut Nico up – not that he had anything else he needed to say anyway. The most startling part was the fact that Will rose his voice, which rarely ever happened. His face, however, looked just as calm as it always did. Nico had to hand it to Will – the guy had the best poker face he'd ever seen. Will chuckled a little before he spoke. "Dude, calm down. I'm not going to punch you or anything."

Nico tried brushing away his nerves by shifting his weight and grabbing the bottom of his jacket. He'd found that touch was a good method of grounding. "Congrats. You're handling this better than Percy did."

Will laughed again. "In his defense, you were coming out at the time, so it was even more surprising to him than it is to me."

Nico shifted his weight again. "Makes sense. Doesn't mean that is wasn't highly entertaining to watch him awkwardly stutter through his words." He cleared his throat to make sure that the break in their conversation didn't result in another silence. It was easier to continue speaking this time. "So…we cool?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, we're cool."

Nico nodded back, picking the bag back up off the floor. The horrified look on Will's face almost made him drop it again. "Well, uh, I guess I'll be going then."

"You're still trying to leave?" Will asked. "I thought I'd finally gotten through to you."

Nico shook his head. "I need to do this, Will. I need to leave Camp Half-Blood. I promise I'll visit. I'll go back and forth between the camps. You'll forget about me soon enough anyway. You're a likeable guy – as I said before – so you must have plenty of friends." Nico turned and began walking toward the corner. "See ya, Solace."

"Hey, Nico. I don't know if it'll make you stay but," Will began, either pausing or hesitating. Nico had his back turned as he walked to the corner, so he couldn't see Will's expression to be able to properly judge the silence, "I have a crush on you too."

Nico froze where he stood, his breath getting stuck in his throat and his ability to move missing again. His heart began pounding louder than it had since his time in Tartarus. His body began moving on auto-pilot as it turned around to face Will. Nico was vaguely aware of when his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in and, apparently, his mind chose fight. "Did you just…"

"Come out to you?" Will asked. "Yeah."

"Am I the…"

"First one?" Will finished for him again. "Yeah."

"R-Really?" Nico asked, which was a stupid question. To fake something like this and toy with the emotions of someone as fragile as Nico would require you to be a jerk. And Will Solace was definitely not a jerk. Which was part of the reason Nico wasn't proud of his next question. "What in the heck in going on right now?"

Will smiled sheepishly, which was a bit out of character for him. "Well, uh, um…"

Trying to be the bigger person in the scenario, Nico tried to make his mind work faster and smoother. It seemed like it was up to him to push the conversation forward for once. "It's alright Will. Sorry if I mad you nervous but I, uh – I've never had anyone come out to me before."

Shrug. "Like I said, we're cool. Just nerves I guess. You of all people know how nerve-racking this can be."

"Yeah," Nico said gravely, "tell me about it."

Will chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. It seemed to Nico like some kind of unconscious gesture, probably from his childhood. "It's kind of nice to have it off my chest; to have someone know who won't punch me."

"So," Nico continued, "how long have you known you were gay?"

Shrug. "I always knew I was different, but it wasn't until fifth grade – the beginning of middle school – that I learned that wanting to date boys wasn't acceptable."

Nico nodded. "Understandable. It doesn't look like you really want to talk about this, judging by the look on your face."

This time, it was Will who shifted his weight, cueing in Nico that he was spot on with his guess. "I've never talked about it before. It's kind of weird."

"In that case, you don't have to talk yet." Nico told him. Then, he smirked. "But I'm always here. Just think of me as your gay councilor."

"But you aren't always gonna be here, Nico, and that's the problem." Will exploded. He threw his arms into the air, but lowered them quickly. Did he think he had some image to maintain? "You're leaving for Camp Jupiter and… I-I can't stand that."

Nico gulped. "Because you have a crush on me."

"Exactly."

"And I literally just admitted to you that I like you."

"Yup."

Nico tapped his foot a couple times. "And, as far as we know, we're the only two gay demigods at either camp."

"Pretty much."

He sighed. "So… Solace, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Nico watched as Will awkwardly bit his lip. A small smile made its way onto his face – the feeling so unfamiliar it felt like stretching in the morning. This boy was certainly something else. "For starters? Stay here at camp."

"And then?"

Will's face turned the same shade of pink that it had during their last conversation a couple weeks ago.

'The blond laughed in reply, moving on. "How are you feeling?" Nico raised an eyebrow. Will continued, "Physically."

Nico shrugged. "Fine, I guess. You wouldn't have let me leave otherwise, right?"

"But still, I can't help but worry." He told him. Will was a medic, so Nico didn't see anything wrong with what he had said, but the other boy's face took on a slight pink tint and he was quick to add, "'Cause, ya know, I'm a medic, so I worry about everyone who gets hurt."

Suddenly, that entire awkward encounter made much more sense. Even though you couldn't tell from the outside, Nico's head was still swimming. Will Solace actually had a crush on him. It seemed too good to be true which, in the lives of demigods, usually means it isn't true. But Nico couldn't bring himself to deny it out loud. At least, not yet. Especially not after Will answered his question.

"Be my boyfriend."

The smile that crossed Nico's face was involuntary. He hadn't felt this selfishly happy in a long time. "You know, Solace. That might be enough to get me to stay."

"Really?" Will asked, smiling. "Damn, all I came in here to do was lecture you for shadow-travelling again and… wow."

Nico stole Will's move and shrugged. "Life works in funny, and depressing, ways. Get used to it Solace."

Nico dropped the bag in his hand one final time and began walking toward the door, toward Will Solace. He stopped next to the taller boy. Will tentatively reached for Nico's hand. As soon as it made contact, Nico pulled away. Touching people made him feel uncomfortable and triggered his anxiety. Will must have noticed it because he said, "Sorry! Jason told me about your touching-thing. I forgot!"

Nico's stomach did a flop. This boy cared so much about him, more than anyone else at this camo has for a long time. But that's alright, Nico guessed. Taking a deep breath, Nico nervously took Will's hand in his. The smile on Will's face was worth being uncomfortable, in his opinion anyway. "C'mon, Solace. You think you're ready to walk around camp holding my hand? Are you ready for the public eye?"

After a moment, Will nodded. "If you can do it, then so can I."

"Well then," Nico said, walking toward the door. "here we go. Together?"

"Together."