A/N: Hello there dear readers! Unfortunately, no, this is not the continuation of Three Days in Darkness that I promised, but I've been rather busy at university to do any actual reworking of the next part of the story, No Mercy for the Storm. That will have to wait for a little while, but I'll get it to you as fast as I can.

Nico di Angelo never particularly liked formal occasions. The fact that he was having trouble with the necktie currently draped around his shoulders only added to his frustrations. He'd always had trouble with the damn things. His husband, on the other hand, Will Solace, had never had any bones to pick with black-tie events.

Nico growled softly at himself. This was the one night that he'd hoped he wouldn't have to deal with the pain of trying to tie a proper Windsor knot. This night was supposed to be a special one. Nico didn't want anything to go wrong.

The past year was full enough of fuck-ups. Nico didn't want this particular night to be one of them, too. Everyone that they loved would be present. Everyone that meant anything to either of them would be there to witness the two young men reaffirming their marriage vows after five years of being married.

Nico and Will knew that it would seem rather soon for mundane mortals, but since they were demigods and they lived a dangerous life, both of them had decided that they could not be faulted for wanting to reaffirm their vows a bit early.

"Will," said Nico after a while. He'd been struggling with the tie for a good ten minutes. He dropped the two ends of the knot. He sighed in exasperation. His fingers were beginning to cramp.

Nico had already stubbornly refused as much of Will's help as he could, but if there was one night that he wanted to avoid pain, it was this night. Nico knew that he could be stubborn at times. He knew that he could be downright wool-headed. He wasn't stupid, though, and he knew when to ask for help. "Will, can you help me?" he said.

Will grunted. Nico blinked. He had been so preoccupied with his tie that he hadn't noticed Will was having his own wardrobe issues. Nico looked at his husband and saw that Will was hopping up and down on one leg. It looked like Will was having trouble getting his socks on.

"One moment, love," said Will, flashing Nico an apologetic smile that made Nico's heart skip a beat. Nico didn't have to wait too long. Soon enough, Will was standing in front of him.

Nico looked at Will. Will looked at Nico and shook his head. "You know I just want to help, right, Nico?" he said. A lock of dark hair had fallen across Nico's face. Will took it and tucked it behind Nico's ear. "You don't have to do everything by yourself." Nico shook his head and sighed. He didn't want to argue.

Will smiled at Nico sympathetically, but said nothing more.

Five years married and Nico didn't have to do much more than sigh to say that he didn't want to talk about something, and Will would promptly drop the subject. Will did it differently, but Nico always caught it. Will would scrunch his face up in such an endearing way that sometimes, Nico couldn't help but press a topic just to see the expression.

Will tapped Nico's nose, jolting the son of Hades from his thoughts. "You really should pay attention, Nico," said Will. "You want to learn how to tie a Windsor knot, right?"

Truth be told, some part of Will wanted Nico to never learn. It was probably a bit selfish of him, but he liked doing these small things for his husband. Nico nodded. Will smiled. "Alright. Well, you just do this," he said, "then this, and this, and this."

Nico tried his best. He really did. Will's fingers were deft, however. They had had years, if not decades, of experience tying bandages. Nico simply couldn't follow the small, nimble movements. "There we go," said Will, touching up his work with final adjustments before letting go so that Nico could examine his tie closer.

Nico had to admit that the knot-work was somewhat shabby. Will's own tie, on the other hand, spoke of impeccable craftsmanship. Nico knew that Will had made his look somewhat ugly on purpose. It was a little thing, but Nico appreciated Will all the more for it.

Will had intentionally made Nico's tie look shoddy so that it would look like Nico had done it. Suddenly overcome by a swell of emotion, Nico reached out and touched the side of Will's face. "Thanks, sunshine," he said. His voice was soft and barely audible over the sound of the waves crashing against the beach outside their window.

"I mean it," said Nico, when Will chuckled. "Thanks for everything."

Will gripped Nico's hand in his own. He knelt down in front of his husband and looked Nico in the eyes. "You don't have to thank me," he said, his sparkling blue eyes holding Nico's dark ones for a moment that seemed to last an eternity.

"I love you, after all," said Will, dazzling Nico with the very same smile that even after all this time, still made Nico's heart flutter in his chest. Will chuckled at the colour that crept into Nico's cheeks before pressing his lips in earnest against Nico's.

When they finally broke apart for air, Nico could only look at Will. He had tears in his eyes. He traced Will's jaw with his fingers. They trembled from the effort, but it was worth it. "I love you, too."

Will grinned at Nico. "I know you do, death boy," said Will, patting his husband on the back. "Now come on," he said, "Let's get this tux on you." Nico sighed, but relented. He reluctantly spread his arms and leaned slightly forward so that Will could get the jacket on him.

Nico sighed as Will's hands brushed along his arms. When all was said and done, he looked at himself in the mirror. Of course, he looked rather gloomy in his dark grey tuxedo and dress-pants.

It was Nico's trademark look. He rather liked it. He also fancied the thought that he looked rather dapper. He had silver-skull cufflinks. His tie-bar was fashioned after his Stygian Iron sword. He was rather fond of it.

Will stood beside Nico. He seemingly made Nico glow with shared radiance. He was dressed in the exact same cut and style of clothing. The only difference was their colour and their accessories.

Where Nico was dressed in sharp, dark grey, Will was dressed in gentle, pale, milky gold. His cufflinks were different. On his left was the staff of Asclepius, and on his right was the symbol of the sun. His tie-bar was differen,t too. It was shaped after the single golden arrow that had saved Nico's life from the Calydonian Boar.

Nico jumped when he felt Will's hand on his shoulder. He looked at his husband. "Shall we get going, then?" said Will. "Don't want to keep our guests waiting, right?"

Nico looked at Will. His heart was hammering in his chest. He sincerely could not believe his luck that he had married this man and would spend the rest of eternity with him. "Yeah," said Nico with a tentative smile.

Nico didn't know if he was ready to face everyone again after so long. Most of his friends he hadn't talked to in months. Even Hazel, he'd only talked to sparingly. He'd been a recluse.

Nico didn't think he was ready, but tonight was a special night. They had planned it long before the events of the past year turned everything upside down. Nico didn't want to fuck anything up. "Let's go," he said.

"Care to dance?" said Reyna as she rose from her place of honour at Nico's right hand. She held out an arm to Nico, but the son of Hades did not take it. Nico looked up at her quizzically. His expression was incredulous. The mere fact that Reyna was asking him to dance was ridiculous.

Thankfully, however, the ceremony was already done. The entire thing had been short, sweet, and fantastic. Everything had been more than Nico could have possibly hoped for. After everything that had happened in the past year, every misfortune that had befallen him, this night was something that Nico had needed.

The reception was also done. The food had been devoured—as food would be in a room of hungry demigods. The cake had already been consumed. Some of it had been smeared on Nico's face. Some of it on Will's. A whole lot of it in Percy's hair.

All in all, Nico thought that the night had been a success. Never mind that halfway through the reception, Nico's hand had cramped. He was in the middle of taking a drink from his wineglass. It had slipped from his fingers and shattered against the floor.

The sound had shushed the whole crowd. Everyone had looked at Nico. Thankfully, no one had made too much of the incident, and the night had continued without too much of a hitch. Without too much trouble, that was, at least until the time came when the dance floor was opened.

Nico looked at Reyna again. Then he looked at Will, meeting blue eyes with his own. Will seemed somewhat concerned by the proposition, but there was one thing that Nico knew without a doubt. Both he and Will would trust Reyna with their lives. They had had to do so on more than one occasion now, after all.

Nico raised an eyebrow at Reyna. He gestured at his body. "I'm not really—" Nico trailed off. He was trying his best to search for the proper word. "Up," he said, finally, with a grimace. The feeling of Will's hand on his shoulder confirmed what he dreaded. Will approved of the pun.

Nico rolled his eyes at his husband. "I'm not really up for dancing," he said, glaring at Will. Will shook his head and squeezed Nico's shoulder.

"No matter," said Reyna with a laugh. The sound lifted Nico's spirits. Hearing Reyna act as though nothing was wrong felt good for some reason. "I'm strong enough for the both of us," said Reyna.

The three demigods spotted Percy Jackson walking by. They decided, in a moment, to mess with him. Reyna nudged Nico in the ribs and winked at him. "I'm man enough for the both of us," she said.

Nico copped a feel of Reyna's groin. Normally, he would have objected, and Reyna would have broken his arm off, but in the spirit of fucking with Percy Jackson, they put aside their reservations. "No," said Nico, "I don't think you are." Nico, Reyna, and Will laughed when Percy started choking on the slice of cake he had in his hands.

Percy waved at the three demigods and awkwardly walked away as he tried to clear his throat. "No thank you, Reyna," said Nico, once Percy had gotten out of earshot. He folded his hands on his lap. "I appreciate the gesture, but I'd really rather not."

Reyna shrugged and rubbed Nico's back. "Suit yourself son of Hades," she said. Only Reyna could call Nico 'son of Hades' and make it sound affectionate. Nico smiled in appreciation. "Can I entice my best friend's husband to a dance, then?"

Nico laughed. He looked at Will. Will looked as though he was itching to get on the dance floor, but he didn't seem like he wanted to without Nico's permission. "Go ahead," said Nico. "Just save the last dance for me," he said, softly.

Will nodded. He bent down to kiss Nico's forehead. "I'll be back soon, love," he said. Reyna looked at Nico. Her eyes were twinkling with something that he could not quite name. "Don't go anywhere, alright?" said Will, humour pulling at the corners of his lips.

Nico rolled his eyes as Will hooked his arm through Reyna's. "It's not like I can, Solace," said Nico.

"That's Solace-di Angelo to you, death boy," said Will with a wink. Nico couldn't help but stick his tongue out at his husband, drawing a chuckle from the son of Apollo.

Reyna pulled Will to the dance floor. Part of Nico wanted to turn away. Part of him wanted to just look at the food on the table and maybe get another bite to eat because the food was so good. Still, Nico couldn't tear his eyes away from Will as his husband and his best friend glided across the floor.

Will lied about being back soon, but Nico could not fault him for that. Nico had his own share of being harassed by friends, but thankfully they couldn't do more than just sit down with him and pester him about how the last couple of months had been.

Will, on the other hand, was forced to waltz with Hazel, to whom he'd been passed by Reyna when she was done with him. He was forced to tango with Piper. Jason did a grind against him. A laughably bad one, as Piper had commented while they watched Jason and Will dance.

Then, there was Percy, who had absolutely no idea what he was doing and accidentally stomped on Will's feet more than a few times during the course of their 'dance.' All in all, Nico thought it was a good night. He just wished he could actually get up and dance with Will.

"I'm so sorry, Nico," said Will. The whole trip back to their room had been done in silence. The only sounds that accompanied them up the accessibility ramp of their home at the edge of Theopolis, by the artificial beach, was the breaking of the Sound on the sand and the turning of the wheels on Nico's wheelchair.

"I didn't mean to take so long," said Will, tangling the fingers of one hand through Nico's silky hair. He squeezed Nico's shoulder. He pressed his nose to his husband's head and breathed in the scent that was uniquely Nico di Angelo. "I just got carried away!"

"Then," said Will, daring to complain in a downright jovial tone, "They wouldn't let me go!" It was one of those times when he just couldn't get a read on Nico. Naturally, he tried to inject levity into the situation first. "My feet hurt so much," he groaned. "Percy definitely didn't help that," he said with a half-hearted chuckle.

Will frowned as Nico refused to respond to him. He wheeled Nico into their room. He forgot all about turning on the light. His mind was focused only on Nico's silence. "Nico?" he said, concern slipping into his voice.

There was no response. Only silence. Will could just barely make out sniffling, but it was so soft, he wasn't sure if he was just hearing things. He walked around the wheelchair and knelt in front of Nico. "Are you alright?" he said, looking up at Nico's face only to realize that the shadows hid it from him.

To begin with, Will couldn't see properly. The room was dark. The light was off. The switch was too far away. Moonlight filtered in through the crack in the window, but it wasn't enough. Will suspected that Nico was drawing the shadows to himself to hide whatever was going on, too.

Will sighed and shook his head. He hated prying when Nico obviously -didn't want to talk, but this was one night when he thought it was necessary. Will held up his hand in front of his face and summoned an orb of light.

The ball of radiance danced above his open palm and brought everything into startling clarity. Nico's cheeks glistened with tears. Will had not even noticed. "Nico," he whispered, "I'm sorry I left you alone. Will felt ashamed of himself. If there was any time that Nico needed him, it had definitely been during the night's festivities. "I really didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm an ass."

Nico shook his head from side to side. "No," he said, "No. It's not that." Nico's voice was so soft it was barely just a whisper. "I just…" Nico looked at Will's hopeful blue eyes and immediately regretted even letting Will use his light.

"It's nothing," Nico said, all of a sudden. He twisted the ring that was around his finger. The symbol of his commitment to Will. "It's stupid," he said. Will had already done enough for him, after all. "Don't mind me."

"Nico," said Will, reaching up with his free hand and wiping the tears from Nico's face. "I can't not mind you," he said. "You're my husband." Will smiled at Nico. It was a gentle gesture, but it was enough to soften Nico's resolve. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."

Will squeezed Nico's arm. "I know you don't want to talk, but I just want to help, Nico." Will traced Nico's jaw with his thumb. "You can't make me leave, you know. Not anymore." The words took Nico's mind back through time.

It was a fairly rainy day. Nico should have known that to begin with, Will would have been grumpy, if not downright hostile, but he'd just been through a rather ugly retrieval operation for a son of Hephaestus in Seattle. He was far too beaten up and tired to care. All he wanted to do was find a good corner to curl up and nap in.

Will had other ideas, however. One would argue that he had every right to freak out, seeing his husband return from what should have been a routine mission with a serious laceration against the upper arm.

"Nico!" Will said as Nico walked past him. "Are you alright?"

"Fuck off, Solace. Leave me alone," growled Nico. He didn't know what had possessed him to lash out at his husband, but incompetence had led to a rather serious series of events that had made Nico's life a lot harder during the mission to Seattle. He wasn't in the mood for Will's mothering.

"Excuse me?" said Will, standing in Nico's way with his fists on his hips. "I'm just asking if you're alright because I'm concerned you got hurt and you tell me to fuck off?"

"Yeah, I did," barked Nico, wholly intent on building himself a nest in one corner of the master bedroom. "Deal the fuck with it."

"You know what?" said Will, literally steaming. "If you're going to be that way, then fine. I'm going to fucking leave. Don't bother looking for me until you realize that I just want to help."

"Fine!" said Nico, wanting nothing more than to get a moment's peace. "Fuck off then!"

Will made a sound of indignation and exasperation. He threw his hands up in the air and scowled at Nico. "Fine!" he shouted. "Since you like your pride so damn much why don't you take it and shove it down your throat and choke on it!"

A soft tap on Nico's arm brought him back to the present. He didn't want to ever have that kind of a fight with Will again. He'd felt like shit for the entire week that Will had refused to come home. The entire week that Will had, somehow, completely evaded Nico's efforts to track him down.

"Okay, fine," said Nico, relenting after the sobering flashback. "I feel like shit because I couldn't dance with you."

The words startled Will enough that the orb of light hovering over his hand winked out for a moment before flickering back to life. "I know," said Nico, taking a deep breath, "I know how much you loved dancing with me when we got married." Nico averted his eyes. "I liked it, too…"

A twinge of pink crept into Nico's cheeks. It drained away almost instantly after. "Sometimes," he said, avoiding Will's eyes as much as he possibly could, "I just wish we didn't go on that quest with the fucking boar."

No one would question that Will had indeed saved Nico's life from the Calydonian Boar, but it had been too late. The beast had already done permanent damage to Nico. As much as Will tried with his healing light, all he could do was soothe the havoc that the creature had wreaked on Nico's nervous system. He could not remedy the paralysis that had rendered Nico's legs useless.

Will blinked a tear from his eye. He should have been there faster. He should have been able to heal Nico. Not a day went by when he didn't blame himself, but he knew that he could not turn back time to fix anything. The least he could do was make sure that Nico was comfortable and well taken-care of.

Will sighed. He'd been about to squeeze Nico's leg. It was a tough habit to break, even after a year. He would have meant it in comfort and solidarity, but he knew that the feeling would only be dulled, and would probably make Nico feel even worse about the whole situation.

Will raised his open palm to Nico's face. As always, the orb of light that danced in the air above it entranced Nico. Before Nico could say anything,Will blew on the orb of light and it scattered into a swarm of fireflies that streamed past Nico's face.

The single orb burst into countless little spheres of light that left twinkling trails in the air that faded after a few seconds. "What are you doing?" said Nico as Will took his hands. The new gold-and-silver ring on his finger glittered in the light of Will's fireflies.

"What are you doing?" said Nico, echoing the same question he'd asked on their wedding night when Will pulled this trick with him.

"Dancing with you," said Will with a chuckle.

"Stop fucking with me, Will," said Nico, roughly shoving at Will's shoulder. He was surprised by the amount of resistance that met him. Needless to say, he wasn't impressed. "I'm not kidding," he said, after a moment of silence.

"You know I can't dance with you." Will shook his head and laughed. Larger balls of light had popped up around the room. They danced. They swayed from side to side as though they were performing a waltz of their own.

The light was soft and not too bright. Just enough to fill the room, but not enough to wash it out. The gentle motion of the swarm of fireflies and the larger orbs made the shadows dance with the light.

Will was pulling the same shit again. Still, Nico couldn't help but admit that the scene was beautiful. Ever since their wedding night, Nico had secretly wished that Will would do it again. Nico wanted to be pulled again into Will's arms and danced through the night. Now, however, Nico knew that his hope was in vain. It simply was no longer possible.

Will shook his head. "I'm not kidding, either," he said, conjuring orbs of golden light around the room just like he had in Nico's memory. Nico watched, enraptured, as the orbs shed sparkling motes that filled the air, making it seem as though the entire room was enchanted.

"Where there's a Will, there's a way, after all," said Will. The grin that the son of Apollo flashed him at that moment made Nico want to punch his husband. Nico groaned at the pun. If anyone knew how to ruin a perfectly good moment, it was Will.

Nico didn't get too much of a chance to protest the tasteless wordplay, however. The next thing he knew, Will's arms were under his knees and under his shoulders, and he was being picked up. He was being cradled in strong loving arms like an infant, and somehow, Nico didn't take too much offence to the idea.

"Will," said Nico, his voice suddenly growing frantic when he realized how far below the floor was. "Will put me down. You might…" Nico breathed deeply. He turned his eyes to Will. "You might hurt yourself."

Will laughed. The sound didn't make Nico any more confident in his husband's strength. "I've been working out, love," said Will. "I'm not the same scrawny Apollo kid from Camp Half-Blood that you fell in love with. I'm stronger now. Strong enough to take care of you."

"I know you have choice words about that," said Will, "but it's true. I'm here for you now. I'm here to take care of you like you've taken care of me and looked out for me for all these years. You don't always have to be the strong one, Nico. Let someone else take over for a chance."

Nico could not find the words to respond. What Will had just said wasn't eloquent by any stretch of the imagination, but still, the words were said with such conviction that Nico's heart started beating faster in his chest.

"Don't worry, Nico," said Will, "I promise I won't ever let you fall." Nico's heart skipped a beat.

Will took one step. Then another. Then another. Soon enough, both Will and Nico were swaying to the rhythm of the orbs of light and the sound of crashing waves from outside their window.

The sound of the ocean reminded Nico of the feelings that he once had for Percy. Held there in Will's strong arms as he was swayed from side to side by the man whom he was privileged to call husband, whatever remained of those feelings evaporated.

Nico looked at his husband. He lost himself in those blue eyes that sparkled in the golden light of the fireflies and the orbs in the room. Nico couldn't think of anyone else that he would rather spend the rest of his life with.

Nico threw his arms around Will's neck, ignoring the fact that his muscles tightened from the sudden motion. He pulled himself up. His back began to ache. He pressed his lips in earnest against Will's as the son of Apollo continued to take slow steps around the room.

Kissing Will like that was a mistake that Nico believed was worth making. His entire body seized. His arms locked into position. His fingers became claws as they cramped. His muscles, crippled as they were, stiffened all over his body and sent pain shooting throughout every part of him.

Will blinked away the tears from his eyes at seeing Nico suffer like this. He pulled his lips from Nico, whose eyes were squeezed shut and brimming with tears that rolled down his cheeks. "Hush, hush," cooed Will, gently rocking his beloved from side to side.

Gently, Will swayed to the rhythm of the lights and the sea, whispering sweet nothings into Nico's ear as the son of Hades clung on to his husband for dear life. For once, Nico was letting Will take the lead. He was letting Will dance him through the night until the pain faded away and he slipped into peaceful sleep in Will's strong arms.

A/N: Anyway. There we go. I hope you liked this story as much as I liked writing this. The last scene, especially, made me cry. It was just so heartrendingly beautiful in my mind that I hope I did it justice. Leave a fave, but better yet, leave me a review! I would love to read your thoughts. They give me motivation to keep doing what I do.

As always, my ask box is open, so just drop by at .com and give me a poke! I'll try to get to you as fast as I can.