Will had insisted on planning everything for their first year anniversary. He had made a few deals at the hospital to get them both the day off, and it had only gotten better from there.

From the lazy morning—complete with lazy morning sex—to a picnic for lunch, for which Will had made an assortment of Nico's favorite food; from their walk in the park afterwards, to the pause they took at Jackson's, where each of the waiters gave him a different flower, culminating with Percy handing him a box with a wink, in which Nico found a collector's Mythomagic figurine of Hades; from dinner in a fancier restaurant than Nico had ever been to in his whole life to a blindfolded ride in Will's Maserati; Nico was sure this day would never fade from his memory.

Will helped him out of the car and removed the blindfold, revealing his last surprise of the evening: they were standing in front of the Golden Singer. Their jazz club—the one they had gotten together at, one year ago. Of course they'd gone back since, but Nico couldn't help but feel like it was the best possible conclusion to this dream of a day.

Will wasn't just taking him out to the club, though, as Nico soon realized. Inside, among the crowd, were the familiar faces of their friends—Piper from the hospital and her boyfriend Jason, Percy and his girlfriend Annabeth, Nico's best friends from school, Reyna, Hazel and Frank, Will's best friend Cecil, all gathered for them.

The evening went by in a blur, talking and dancing—and a fair amount of drinking, too. Percy insisted on dancing with Nico a few times, and got surprisingly better at it the drunker he got, and Will and Nico took turns trying to get Jason to dance too, surprised to see him doing respectably on the dance floor.

But above all, the night was Will and Nico's. Everyone else could have disappeared and Nico would have been fine so long as Will kept dancing with him, talking with him, being with him.

As the night dragged on and closing hour was approaching, Will grabbed Nico's hand and led him to an alcove in the club, where they were more or less isolated. "So how'd you like my surprise?"

"Which one?" Nico teased, grinning from ear to ear. "They were all amazing. Thank you for this unforgettable day, Will."

"It's my pleasure. And hey, I managed to get it right the first time around, this time."

Nico chuckled. "That you did. I guess you made some progress, didn't you?"

"That's true. And it's all thanks to you."

That was a lie, and they both knew it—Will himself was responsible for overcoming his guilt over Michael's death, but if anyone else was to thank for it, it was probably the therapist Will's dad had recommended when Nico had brought up the topic with him. Nico doubted Will would ever truly be over his brother's death, but Nico guessed it was natural to grieve.

"I think—if Michael saw me now, I think he'd be happy for me. And that makes me realize I should be happy, too. That I am happy."

"I know." They'd had that conversation before, of course, but Nico wouldn't grow tired of hearing Will tell him he was happy. Possibly because Nico himself was part of that happiness.

Will chuckled. "I guess this wasn't what you expected when you got me that first coffee, did you?"

Nico snorted at the memory. "Don't remind me. I'm almost embarrassed."

"I always thought it was cute."

"I couldn't even talk to you!"

"We figured it out eventually." Will smiled, a quiet smile, different from his usual, bright grins. "And that's what I wanted to say to you. We figured it out. We got things perfect, even if it took us a few missed tries. You helped me get better—you did—and we make each other happy. And we may have little family left between the two of us, but—"

"There you are!" Percy's voice cut off Will's momentum—he jolted in surprise, turning a bright red as he looked away, visibly embarrassed. "Come on, Nico, they're closing soon and you owe me one last dance!"

Nico glanced at Will, intrigued, but Will just nodded. "Go on. Have fun. We can talk later."

Nico did have fun—until suddenly it was no longer night but morning, and they had to leave as the club was closing. Will had mostly been silent since Percy's interruption, but he didn't look upset to Nico—if anything, he looked surprised.

Will drove them back to his apartment—their apartment, since Nico had moved in a few months ago. It was only after he closed the door that he spoke once again.

"I love you, Nico." Will said, kissing Nico out of the blue.

"I love you too. But what's going on? Spit it out."

"I—I tried to say something earlier. But then Percy came, and—I realized I was making a mistake anyway. You wouldn't have liked me doing…that…in front of everyone. But now I used most of my speech already, and I don't really know what to do—" He sighed. "Guess I did fuck up one thing today."

Nico chuckled, and kissed him briefly. Whatever Will's trouble was, Nico couldn't help but find his reaction endearing. "Still a pretty good track record, if you ask me. Why don't you just resume where you left off?"

Will stared at him for a moment, thoughtful, then he nodded. "All right. I was—" He cleared his throat. "We may have little family left between us, but—but we found one in each other." He sank on one knee, and it suddenly dawned on Nico what the speech had been for. What he'd meant by Nico not liking him if he did that in public. "At least I hope so."

Nico stared, petrified, as Will took out a box from the breast pocket of his jacket.

"Nico di Angelo…will you marry me?"

He opened the box, revealing the ring inside, but Nico's brain barely registered it. His attention was entirely focused on Will, and before he knew it, he was on his knees as well, taking Will in his arms and holding him tight. "Oh, Will." He kissed Will, feeling himself tear up.

"Is that a yes, then?" Will asked when they parted, out of breath.

"Yes. Yes, a million times yes. Of course I will!"